This Can Only Go Wrong
by Catoscorrtome
Summary: Coercing a fellow Shepherd into courting Lucina can only end catastrophically. This doesn't seem to stop anyone from trying, for some reason. [Lucigo] T for tiny amounts of violence and lots of shenanigans. Or: An alternate take on their support conversations
1. Owain has a bad idea

**A/N: Hola amigos! I've always been a pretty big fan of the Lucigo pairing, and I wanted an excuse to write fifteen chapters of meaningless fluff. It's been a while since I last did this, so I hope you enjoy it. Anyway, enough about me - on with the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Owain has a bad idea**

"Princess," Yarne called, his tone bordering on begging. "I really dont want to do this!"

Inigo sympathised with his furry friend- sparring with Lucina in front of so many of his friends, and at such an early hour, would have been enough to send Inigo running for the hills, or back to the village the Shepherds had found him in. As it was, Yarne was doing tremendously well to not have collapsed in a teary puddle on the floor yet- instead his fear could be discerned by the weakness in his posture and the slightest shake of his fists, clenched protectively on either side of his face.

"Only a mad man wants to fight." Lucina responded, her own stance steady and her weight balanced easily on the balls of her feet. "But it is a necessary evil, I'm afraid, and your latest performance on the battlefield could lead you into serious danger without proper corrections."

Yarne groaned, more visibly trembling as Lucina dropped her pose long enough to move towards Yarne in sure strides, her finger held to her chin as she forced him to adjust his stance into something surer, with his weight more evenly distributed.

She then returned to her former position and gracefully slid into a stance appropriate for combat once more.

"Brady," She called. The man in question flinched like her voice was a whip and stood to attention. "We're ready."

Cynthia and Morgan pulled their heads close together, and Inigo had to fight back a snort at their faces, obviously mocking the princess.

Brady raised his arm, and brought it down in a sure swing, and Lucina shot forward like a bullet. She brought her leg round on an arc with the intent to drive the top of her left foot into Yarne's side.

To everyone's intense surprise, Yarne caught her ankle, wincing as his palm took the brunt of her kick. Lucina was not to be thrown, however, and threw her weight into the hand that had caught her ankle, using Yarne's strength as a springboard as she planted her hands on his shoulders for balance and pulled her knee up to drive it into Yarne's chin. His head whipped back, an Inigo winced at the force that must have gone into her second kick. Yarne's grip on her ankle loosened and Lucina fell into a neat crouch, and without missing a beat, she took the moment Yarne attempted to recover and swept her leg outwards once more, knocking his feet clean out from beneath him.

Yarne landed ungracefully, and like a fox on a rabbit, Lucina went in for the kill, one foot resting on Yarne's torso, keeping him pinned on the ground. Yarne struggled for a moment, trying to throw her off balance, before he went limp, conceding defeat.

The audience collectively winced. Despite the quick end to the math, Yarne had done well- one bruise on his jaw and an injured dignity. Few made it out of a sparring match with Lucina with so little damage. Inigo put it down to Yarne's Taguel heritage, because even Inigo had more bruises than that from his spar with Lucina the previous week.

Then again, Lucina had been seeking to teach Yarne to fight better, while she had sought to beat the crap out of Inigo for his attempts to enlighten Cynthia about the finer details of her beauty. He still wasn't sure he had forgiven her for tattling on him to Lucina, though. That had been low, even if she found his advances unwelcome.

Speaking of Cynthia, both she and Morgan looked to be gossiping, and never one to be out of the loop, Inigo swooped in to hear what his friends had to say.

"It was still dark, Morgan." Cynthia said, horror colouring her tone. "The sun hadn't even risen. She broke down my door BEFORE sunrise!"

Morgan nodded in sympathy, sliding across the bench to allow Inigo into their conversation. Inigo took his place between them.

"She got mad at me AGAIN for using falchion as an apple cutter!" Morgan responded in intense distress. "What am I supposed to use? Mother forbade the kitchen staff from letting me use a knife after the incident the other day!"

Ah, he could infer the origin of their complaints now- the esteemed Lucina, who was both equal parts lovely and lethal, like the sharp edge of a well-polished sword. Though he could not deny her beauty, Inigo preferred women who were not capable of gutting him without spilling a single drop of blood.

"This can't go on, Inigo!" Cynthia declared. "I can't remember the last time she allowed me to sleep past sunrise- I've started losing hair!" She declared, whipping her head around and pointing to where it was rather unevenly parted at the back of her head. "I think I have a bald spot!"

Owain took the opportunity to join them while Lucina continued to hound Yarne for his poor combat when not in Taguel form. Brady stared longingly at the clump of people gathered on the bench before being forced to supervise yet another match.

"I strongly agree, Cynthia- Lucina is going absolutely overboard." He declared. "You wouldn't believe the bruises I have from her "training"," Here, he made motions with two fingers on either hand, "They're unsightly even for a hero of my calibre!"

They fell silent then, registering the distinct lack of screams of pain from Yarne, and looked up to see Yarne fleeing the training area and Brady holding Lucina back, her arms locked behind her torso.

"Unhand me, Brady!" She bellowed, her legs kicking uselessly out in front of her. Inigo held back the urge to release a low whistle- men far braver than Brady trembled at the idea of standing between her and her goal. Even her own father hesitated to interfere when Lucina took it upon herself to train a shepherd. "I'll teach that cowardly rabbit to fight yet!"

"Let it go, Lucy!" Brady responded, clearly struggling. He was a healer, not a fighter, and the most seasoned of fighters couldn't keep Lucina down for long.

Lucina drew her leg up, her heel angle downward, and drove her foot down against the top of Brady's foot. It didn't have the same effect it normally would, as she had shed her boots in favour of easy movement when fighting Yarne, but it still caused Brady significant enough pain for him to release her arms.

Inigo winced- that was the wrong move, as Lucina pulled her arms out in front of her, before driving her elbow backwards, locking her other arm across her knuckles to add strength to her blow. Her elbow made contact with Brady's abdomen and he crumpled like paper.

Lucina set a fast stride to try and catch up with Yarne.

Cynthia whacked Inigo on the shoulder, out of the blue. Whirling on her, he opened his mouth to demand an apology.

"Stop her, Inigo!" Cynthia pleaded. "Say something!"

Morgan and Owain both nodded their agreements, shooting him eerily similar pleading expressions, and he suspected the heart-melting potential had roots in training from Lissa in the finer arts of puppy-dog looks. Inigo groaned, before scrambling to his feet and following after Lucina, jogging to catch up with her and then matching her stride as he arrived beside her.

"Lucina!" He called jovially. She spared him a glance, slowing her stride just the slightest bit.

"Inigo." She responded.

"What, no smile for old Inigo?" He asked her jokingly. She shot him a look that clearly spelled her displeasure, but Inigo was no stranger to dirty looks from lovely women. She would have to try harder than that to deter him, especially since all that remained should he return to his friends was disappointed looks and more complaints about the strict training Lucina had been doling out lately for unknown reasons.

"Pardon me?" She responded, as she walked briskly down the corridor, and slowed when it became clear that Yarne had successfully escaped. His objective was to convince her to ease off a bit, he assumed.

"A smile wouldn't kill you, you know." He told her, flashing her a grin. Her brows slowly pulled low over her eyes, the corners of her lips turning down.

"I mean you no disrespect Inigo, but now really isn't the time." She told him, making to leave.

"Fretting it contagious!" He called after her. "You're really bringing people down, Princess."

She paused, turning back to him.

"Bringing people down?" She responded. A small line appeared between her brows, and her frown became more pronounced. "Have there been complaints?"

Inigo opened his mouth to state the obvious- _yes_ there had been complaints. The only topic they seemed to discuss nowadays was the ways Lucina had irritated them. But he stopped himself- he couldn't bring himself to admit that to her.

"Well, mainly me." He muttered, waving his hand dismissively to try and cover his lie. She looked offended. "I'm just saying, wouldn't it be much better to smile than to constantly look like the apocalypse is upon us?" He suggested. She folded her arms across her torso, shifting her weight onto one foot. Her hips tilted to the side, and she shot him a disapproving look he was quite used to seeing on a pretty girl's face.

"Need I remind you, Inigo," She began, and he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he sensed the oncoming lecure. "That in fact, we currently face our doom- any day now, the Plegian king could try and take the fire emblem, and we still do not know who will betray my father to allow it to do so."

Inigo grimaced.

"We just won a war, Lucina!" He said. "An impossible war against an army more than one hundred times our size- you could stand to be a little more cheerful."

She shook her head.

"I will not smile while we have such a grim future ahead." She told him. "If you think I have been grim lately, I do apologise, but I see no alternative to improve our chances at changing the future."

Inigo sighed, stepping up to he stood closer to her. Up close, he could see the flush on her cheeks, produced by a combination of irritation with him and intense training all morning.

"It's not that hard, Princess!" He told her, ignoring her protests and gripping her cheeks between his forefinger and thumb. He pointedly ignored the softness of her skin beneath the pads of his thumb, and pulled outwards so that her mouth stretched outwards.

The effect was quite comical- the stretched out grinned and squished cheeks and deathly intent sparking in sapphire-coloured eyes resulted in an odd mix of cuteness and lethality. He may be risking his life to pull such a stunt but it was definitely amusing.

Lucina pulled back, eyes flashing.

Even Inigo could sense when he had outstayed his welcome.

"I'll keep you no longer, Princess." He told her. "But do try to smile more. I'm sure it'll lift the spirits of our comrades. And maybe consider letting up on the training, eh?" He said, shooting her a grin and leaving her to fume in the corridor behind him.

No sooner than when he had turned a corner did his view suddenly darken- rough fabric scraped against his skin and hands forced him down, despite his attempts to break free. Before he could yell out, his attackers had blocked his mouth, dragging him away from Lucina.

* * *

Someone forced him into a chair and pulled the cloth off his head.

The room was darkened, a single candle in the centre of a plain wooden table, with people seated around it. Registering the people around him, Inigo groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"Was the kidnapping part necessary?" He asked them.

"Morgan thought it was dramatic!" Cynthia said. "And I have to admit, I quite like the aesthetic of the room he's got going on."

"Thank you, Cynthia." Morgan responded cheerfully, lacing his fingers together and leaning his elbows on the wooden surface of the table. "I put quite a lot of thought into it."

"Owain, take the minutes of the meeting." Morgan ordered, glancing at his friend. Owain groaned.

"Why me?" He complained.

"Yeh have the neatest writin' dontcha?" Brady asked. Owain deflated, and grumbling, he reached across the table to receive a book and a pen from Morgan.

"Now for the reason we called this meeting." Cynthia announced, banging her fists on the table and rising to her feet. The legs of her chair made an ugly noise as they skated backwards across the stone floor. "It's Lucina!" She declared, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead and squeezing her eyes shut. "She's just gotten to be too much, lately!"

"Hang on, guys," Inigo interjected. "I just spoke to her- give her a chance to respond!"

Yarne cleared his throat uneasily.

"Inigo, I just barely escaped with my life! I hardly doubt your pathetic attempt at _reasoning_ with her will have any affect." He told him. "Look at this awful bruise!" He flicked a thumb at his chin, indicating the dark purple stain that spread across his jaw. "She kneed me in the face!"

Inigo quieted, slightly subdued by the anguish in Yarne's tone. Owain rose as well, placing one boot on the table to launch himself to its surface to pull the fabric of his shirt up, revealing a blotchy purple, slightly green tinged bruise, on his side.

"Me too!" He declared. He dropped his shirt and raised his hands. "We shouldn't be injuring one another during _practice_ , yet she doesn't let up, even an inch!"

"Get off the table, Owain." Morgan told him, tugging on the hem of his pant leg. Owain obliged, clambering back down to the stone floor and reclaiming his seat. "You make a fair point, Inigo." Morgan announced, attempting to sound unbiased and reasonable.

Inigo was pretty sure sounding reasonable was out the single window in the room as soon as they put a sack on his head to add to the aesthetic of their top secret meeting.

"Her training regime is simply too strict." Cynthia said, with a shake of her head. Her hair flapped around her round face as she did so, following the movement of her head. "A run around the entire parameter of the castle ground, 10 times, from before sunrise and then ridiculously painful training sessions is completely over the top. Also, she made Brady cry the other day!"

"I wasn' cryin'." Brady snapped. "I just got a lil' sweat in my eye, is all!"

"She also made Yarne cry." Morgan added. "And none of the adults have made any move to stop her! In fact, Father agreed that I should stop using Falchion as an apple cutter!"

"I see you have it quite hard, Morgan." Inigo said, grimacing. Morgan nodded pitifully.

"You break ten knives and suddenly everyone's like "Get out of the kitchen, Morgan, just _ask_ the kitchen staff to cut the apples."" Morgan shook his head disdainfully. "Pathetic."

"I actually think that's rather justified." Cynthia volunteered.

Brady raised his hand. "Seconded."

There was silence for a moment, the only sound the one of Owain rapidly transcribing their conversation.

"Can I go?" Inigo asked, raising his own hand. Five pairs of eyes landed on him and he felt his instinctual shyness kick in to be the centre of attention. Feeling his skin flush hot, he shook his head. "Never mind, I'll let us finish."

"I actually don' think she's being th'bad." Brady volunteered, his tone lazy and swinging as usual. This time, everyone fixed their gaze on Brady. Grumpily, he folded his arms across his chest and scowled, leaning backwards in his chair. "Well, not like we've done much t'change the future, 'ave we?"

There was a beat of silence.

"I have a proposal on how to get her to let up." Owain declared. Brady scowled once more when the group collectively decided to ignore him. "C'est l'amour!"

"What will armour do?" Morgan asked, his face contorting with confusion.

"Maybe it'll protect us while we spar?" Cynthia suggested. Owain slapped his face dramatically and shook his head.

"You dimwits! I thought you were smart, Morgan!" Owain accused pointing a finger angrily in the young prince's direction. Morgan shrugged. "L'amour means love!"

"I never really excelled in languages." He said. "I'm really good at war tactics though. Speaking of which, we need to speed this up, I'm supposed to meet with Mother in the library soon."

"Ok, well I just meant that love softens even that hardest of hearts, does it not?" Owain questioned. "So, should Lucina fall in love, she may become a tad more approachable."

Silence followed Owain's suggestion, as the attendants chewed on his suggestion. A few opened their mouths to speak, before thinking better and snapping it shut once more. Inigo waited, expecting an objection, because the suggestion was absolutely ludicrous.

No objections came forth.

"Who would you propose be up for the job, Owain?" Morgan asked, his voice pensive, pulling his eyebrows low over his face. Morgan had a childish face- round and youthful. His pensive expression normally resembled that of a pouting child, but the shadows across his face cast by the single candle in the room made him seem older and sterner- he looked a bit like his father for a moment.

Owain tapped a finger thoughtfully against his jaw, contemplating, flicking his eyes across the table to evaluate his options. Yarne. Brady. Inigo felt a sinking sensation in his abdomen when Owain's eyes came to definitively rest upon Inigo.

"Well," Owain said, drawing the syllable out, a hint of a grin threatening to slide onto his face. "We'd have to choose someone who could handle Lucina's… _tendencies._ " He said, and he couldn't stop the upturn of the corner of his lips this time. "And someone Lucina would easily fall for…" He reasoned. "Surely our resident _ladies man_ ," The words were mocking and scornful and Inigo glared. "Would be up for the job."

"Absolutely not." Inigo responded smoothly, getting to his feet. "I won't, not on your lives, not if it would stop Grima the instant I agreed."

They were on him like a pack of starved wolves.

His companions held him down, with his back flat across the stone floor, their faces looming eerily above him, framing his ring of vision with their scheming visages.

"Yarne and Brady are too wimpy." Morgan informed him. No protests or noises of offence were offered in response to his statement. Instead, the two in question nodded their agreement. Inigo tried to free himself, but two pairs of hands found his shoulders and pushed down, one pair for each shoulder. He traced the hands back to their sources- Owain and Cynthia held his shoulders down. Morgan was the only one not crouched down and attempted to hold Inigo down. Instead, he stood to his full height, usually not particularly tall, but absolutely towering with Inigo lying on the ground. Thoughtfully, he tapped his fingers against his chin. "You're a bit of a ladies' man." He said. "But you're decent-looking at least- can't have ugly nieces and nephews."

Inigo choked, and tried to struggle free once more.

"Let me go, you fools!" Inigo exclaimed.

"Sorry, Inigo!" Cynthia exclaimed, her eyes large and brown, glimmering with soft glints of warm amber from the light of the candle. Well, at the very least, he couldn't stay mad at her, the only pretty girl in the room. "But things are desperate. We can't handle another session where she beats us up or makes us jog thirty times around the castle, and she's just so _mean_ and _grumpy_ _all the time."_

All at once, his captor's expressions altered, surprisingly in sync, and in perfect harmony, they shot him pleading expressions, with varying degrees of effectiveness (Brady, at the very least, looked like he was having bowel trouble, and Yarne was made no cuter by his furriness.)

Inigo groaned, as they all continued to stare at him- the ugly bruise on Yarne's chin in particular seemed to mock him, reminding him the cause that had driven people who were normally a nice bunch, if a little eccentric, to such extremes as to beg him to court _Lucina_ of all people. The princess of Ylisse. Perhaps the scariest woman he had met in the entirety of his life (and he had met a lot of women), excepting only her mother.

"Fine, fine, fine!" Inigo exclaimed, and their grips on his shoulders loosened and he sprang dramatically to his feet and spun around to face them. "I'll court the princess- but no guarantees your plan will succeed!"

They all shrugged.

"Now fer the nex' order of business." Brady declared, getting to his feet and glaring sternly at Morgan, who had reached into the pockets of his robes and produced small cookies to munch on. "Morgan's sweet addiction."

Cheeks bulging, with crumbs littering his cheeks and chin, Morgan grimaced.

"I can stop any time, y'know."

* * *

 **A/N: Whew! So there we have it. Bit of a short chapter to start off- we'll take things slow, start things easy. Little warning for future chapters though: this fic is filled to the brim with a whole lotta headcanons and some made-up crap to explain incredibly contrived situations. Lol.**

 **Next chaper: Inigo cannot flirt**


	2. Inigo can't flirt

**A/N: So! On to chapter 2! I have a few things to mention but I think I might leave them to the end-notes to avoid clutter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Inigo cannot flirt**

Gaping jaws puffed hot, pungent air towards her. It sunk into her clothes, clung to her skin. The scent of death and blood was heavy in her nostrils.

"Your parents are dead, tiny one." A thick, rumbling voice reverberated around her- the air around her shook with the force of the voice. "And soon, you will join them!"

Sharp white teeth, stained with the blood of her comrades and friends closed around her. She tried to run, but she slipped, her boots slicked with blood. The teeth punctured her flesh, tore at her skin, crunched through bone.

Lucina awoke with a violent start, sticky with sweat and a scream caught somewhere in the base of her lungs. She swallowed deeply, her throat dry and rough, and scrubbed desperately at her face, trying to wipe away the tears that had pooled in the corners of her eyes.

The sun had not yet broken the dark line of the horizon, when she checked through the window in her quarters. Sunrise lay a few hours away.

Her hands shook, and she clenched her fingers into fists in an attempt to still them.

She stood like that, for a few more moments, wanting to return to sleep, but sleep would not greet her. If she were to close her eyes, she would simply be greeted by the demonic red eyes that haunted her every night. It was still a few hours until she would have to awake Cynthia and the others for their morning run, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to hear their protests.

Finally, she made up her mind. She felt her way towards the chest that lay at the foot of her bed, and she pulled out a tunic and trousers, and after rinsing away sleep and any remnants of tear tracks on her face in the wash basin in the corner of her room- the maid would change it while she was out- she walked quietly through the corridors of the castle, barefooted.

Outside, dew misted on the grass and droplets clung to her feet as she wandered towards the training grounds. The tunic she had chosen lefts her arms bare and the chill of the early morning air caused the hairs on her arms to raise and goosebumps to spread across her skin.

Inside, it was mildly warmed, and with a click, the rows of torches that lines the walls ignited with sparks of fire. She did not have the prowess in magic that her mother possessed, but she still held a strong enough affinity for it to operate the magic-powered lamps. She bent over and rolled the ends of her trousers up until they reached her knees, and gathered her hair into a bunch at the top of her head, pulling it free from her face.

She grabbed one of the wooden swords lined neatly along the back wall- Cordelia had clearly tidied up the night before because she recalled the others had left the training room in disarray the day before. Its weight in her hand wasn't as comfortable or as well-balanced as holding falchion, but she found a sort of security in having a weapon in her hand, regardless.

She wondered what the others would say, if they knew that she woke so early each day and trained until she had an excuse to wake them and force them to join her. They complained at the regime she had set them, but they did not seem to understand the desperation behind its conception. She threw her arms outwards, the wooden sword cutting through the air in a smooth arc and whacking into the training dummy she used with a satisfying _thwack_.

She herself knew that she might have gone a little overboard- she couldn't stop the guilt every time she spotted the prominent bruise on Yarne's jaw, and had to fight back the urge to relent when an exhausted Cynthia begged her for a few more hours sleep. But each morning she would awaken once more with the taste of blood on the tip of her tongue and a false memory of her friend's death created in yet another nightmare, and she was convinced that just a _little_ more training would ensure their safety on the battlefield.

 _Maybe consider letting up on the training_.

Inigo's voice echoed in her mind, and she paused her strike, the wooden blade stopping centimetres short of the shoulder of the dummy.

Frustrated, she pulled back and swung down with more force than she intended in the original blow. What did Inigo know? He was the worst amongst the slackers in the army- he spent more time asking any woman he came across to tea than he did holding a sword! What a disgrace to her father's army! Still, she could not erase his words from her mind.

 _You're bringing people down!_

She paused in another swing, and let the sword clatter to the ground. Still, annoying though he was, she could not deny the weight and truth Inigo's words held- a disheartened leader would damage troop morale, not boost it. Yet, how could she smile, when every day they stepped closer to a grim future she could not escape? She pictured Inigo's smile in her mind- easy and light, with a sort of careless tilt and the slightest hint of his teeth. It was a dashing smile, no doubt, and it did have an oddly boosting effect.

Still, surely she would look like a mad woman, were she to adopt a similar smile? Hesitantly, she tensed her cheek muscles, pulling her lips back to expose her teeth, trying to tilt her mouth at the same crooked angle Inigo did when he grinned. He rarely smiled specifically at her, but he spent so much of his time grinning, it was hard not to commit the image to memory- the right corner of his mouth was closer to his nose than the left.

She stopped pulling faces, letting the pathetic attempt at a smile slide off her face, feeling stupid- her cheeks heated though she knew there was no one present to witness her silliness. She felt a shame, for entertaining such thoughts as _grinning_ \- she should be training! Improving her skill, honing her technique, so that when the time came for the Shepherds to prevent Grima's awakening, she and her friends would be equipped.

She bent to retrieve her wooden sword. A thought came unbidden, to her mind- what did her smile look like? Maybe if she smiled as easily as Inigo, her friends would be more willing to train? Certainly Inigo's smile made her more willing to train- a small part of her wanted to protect that careless grin.

She pushed the thought away, flushing a bright red. She had no business thinking of a slacker like Inigo in that manner. Besides, she wished to protect _all_ her friends' smiles, not specifically just Inigo's. Though Inigo's smile _was_ significantly nicer than her other friend's. Even her brother's cheerful smile could not match up to Inigo's.

She truly was a madwoman, mad grinning or not! No amount of training could pull him from her mind- though she stared into certain doom, still his words and face hung in the back of her mind, not unlike thoughts of Grima, though it was significantly more pleasant to dwell on thoughts of Inigo than of thoughts of Grima.

She bit her lip and swung out once more. She was a mess, she really was. On one hand she could not sleep for fear of Grima and the future that hung ahead of her, and on the other she could not sleep due to thoughts of Inigo.

Sunlight began to filter in through the windows of the training room- she would have to rouse Cynthia soon, because she would not get up on her own. Lucina knew Cynthia hated her morning runs, but on the back of her Pegasus, she had not built a strong physical endurance that the others held. And she'd have to have another spar with Yarne- his battling in human form simply did not measure up. As a human he would no doubt have been slain prior to this point- only the added strength lent to him by his Taguel form had allowed him to survive until now.

She swung again- they were all so lacking! She herself the most of all! How could they defeat Grima when they were in such a sorry state?

"If only you would practice smiling with the same intensity, Princess." A familiar voice intoned. She swung her sword once more to hide the sudden pulse of her heartbeat.

"I've never seen you awake so early, Inigo." She said, punctuating her sentence with another swing of her sword. She spun around, letting the sword rest at her side. He sauntered towards her, an easy kind of grace in his stride that no doubt stemmed from his skill as a dancer. "Turning over a new leaf? Getting some training in for once?"

"I have no intention of doing so, Lucina." He admitted, and she stared, unimpressed. She vowed not to allow the others to reach such levels of laziness- she would tighten their schedules, make sure that they had not a minute to consider turning out like Inigo. Truly, her biggest mistake was letting him slack off for so long.

"Oh?" She asked, walking towards him, her wooden sword gripped loosely in her hand. "Then you might want to check the room you've just walked into."

He glanced around and smiled that easy smile, one side of his mouth tipping upward.

"I'm well aware of my location." He told her. She tilted an eyebrow up. She could not look down at him with the disdain she wanted- he was too tall. Instead, she planted her hands on her hips.

"Could have fooled me." She responded. "I'm just about to finish up here though, so let me keep you no longer from your objective."

"And…" He paused, mid-sentence. Inigo was shy by nature, and hesitations were not uncommon from him, but it was rare for him to stumble on his words around her. She turned to face him, curious. He grinned at her, something in curve of his brow and tilt of his lips suggestive and playful. "And if my objective is to see you?" He deepened his voice a tone, and she wanted to write the effect off as ridiculous, and mock him for seeming ridiculous, but she couldn't keep the slightest heat from her cheeks at his words.

"Then I must disappoint you." She said simply, trying to keep her tone brisk to hide her red cheeks. She turned towards the racks and returns her practice sword to its place. "I have plans for the day."

"Oh, I'm well aware of your plans." The voice came from a much closer source than she expected and she moved to find Inigo much too close for comfort.

She leaned backwards, glancing away from where her eyes were perfectly level with the gap in his shirt exposing his collar bones. She attempted to edge backwards and nearly flinched when his knuckles grazed her cheeks.

"No doubt to wake poor Cynthia." He said. She bristled and pushed his hand away.

"And if that is my plan?" She asked, annoyed at the slight breathiness to her tone.

"Well then," He said with a grin. "I'd have to stop you."

She scoffed.

"And how would you manage that?" She asked him, leaning forward, invading his personal space. "She needs to train- you won't convince me otherwise."

He was forced to move backwards, and she almost laughed. He was all talk and no game!

"Surely the privilege of my company is enough to banish thoughts of other plans from your mind." He told her. She shook her head.

"It's enough to make me long for my other plans." She responded dryly, moving to walk around him. The sun had broken passed the horizon, and Cynthia needed her morning run. Missing one morning would make it harder to continue.

Inigo matched her pace, following alongside her. With a quick step, he stood in front of her, and fell to his knees, grasping her hand between his own.

"Well, I cannot think of anything else, but to spend the day with such a lovely lady." He told her, his lips just brushing the skin of her hand.

Lucina was sure she had never flushed so brightly in her life. For a few moments she could only splutter unintelligibly until she regained enough sense to wrench her hand free from his grasp, flexing her fingers to rid herself of the sensation of his lips against the back of her hand.

"Perhaps!" She exclaimed, her voice high and an interesting mix of indignant and incredibly flustered, "You should be spending your days more efficiently then!"

He grinned, amusement bright in his eyes as he got to his feet. She did not like how amused he was at her expense. Not even a little bit! She was _certainly_ not pleased when he had called her lovely. That was just his flirtatious nature coming into play. In fact, how _dare_ he engage with such antics around _her!_ She was his captain! His princess- he should be respecting her, not treating her like some blushing maiden ready to swoon at his advances! (Though she was a blushing maiden and she was fighting the urge to swoon, just a little).

"And if I do not want to?" He asked her, his eyes flashing, and his grin bright and dashing as ever.

"Then…" She scrabbled for an answer. "Then it'll show on the battlefield!" She exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I've let you slack off for far too long and now you're behaving like this. Well, trust me, Inigo, I have quite the list of things you need to work on!"

He blinked, taken aback, staring down his nose at her extended finger, before folding his arms across his chest and fixing her with a distinctly unimpressed gaze.

"You have nothing on me. You let me off this long because I'm one of the best fighters amongst us time-travellers." He told her. Her eyes flashed and she advanced forward.

"Oh? Is that so?" She asked him, glaring up into his eyes. He looked down at her.

"Absolutely."

"Then fight me!" She blurted. Silence reigned for a moment.

"Fight you?" He asked. She nodded- she had made her bed now. She had to lie in it. She had bested him a few weeks earlier, though. She reminded him of it out loud.

"Afraid you'll lose again?" She asked him, hands planted triumphantly on her hips.

"You _cheated_ , Lucina." He corrected her, his tone almost gentle. She was not to be deterred though.

"I did no such thing- I merely utilised a weakness to gain an advantage." She retorted. He glared.

"It was a low blow and you know it." He shot back. She didn't respond, instead walking to the edge of the room and dropping into a battle-ready stance.

"Then fight me once more, and prove you don't need my training- I'll avoid such tactics if that's what you need to be convinced!" She responded. He huffed, pressing his hand to his forehead. For one moment, he stared longingly out the window, deliberating, before shaking his head and muttering resentfully under his breath. At last, he too slid into a defensive stance, his weight spread wide.

She propelled herself forward, launching herself off the ground with the balls of her feet and brought her leg out, aiming to catch the back of his knee and throw off his balance. It was a typical move of hers, on that he was quite familiar with, so he launched himself backwards to avoid her blow. She tried to use his momentum to throw him off balance, and drove her fist forward, aiming for his stomach. He caught her fist in the palm of his hand, and her breath hitched. He met her gaze, his expression triumphant, twisting her arm around in an arc that forced her to spin, as if they were waltzing, and tugged her close into his body so her back collided with his chest. She squirmed, trying to wrestle her arm free, but he shifted his grasp so her wrist was clasped between his fingers and swung his other arm across her abdomen, locking her in place.

"Admit it," He said, to her ear, pulling his head back when she tried to head-butt him. "You just wanted an excuse to be closer to me."

Such a response deserved no answer. He had her immobilised, though it stung her pride to admit that, but she also knew Inigo's major weakness. He let his guard down far too easily.

She leaned upwards- She could not reach his ear, though, having to settle with whispering towards his jaw.

"And if I did?" She whispered.

Her strategy had its intended affect- surprised at her boldness, she felt his grip on her wrist loosen, and she tugged it free from his hand, leaping backwards to gain some space. He recovered quickly though, pulling his arms up to guard his face.

"I thought you were going to avoid such strategies?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"I merely stated I would avoid aiming for such an obvious weakness." She said. "Since it is an opening I wouldn't normally have in battle. I said no such thing about using your other, numerous weaknesses."

He didn't get a chance to respond- she dove forward once more, her arm pulled back for a punch. He swung his arm up to block her, but at the last minute, she dropped to a crouch. She spun her leg out and kicked at his ankles. He dropped, his weight collapsing.

She threw herself forward, utilising yet another weakness- his long recovery time from a blow. Her shoulder collided with his chest and he tumbled backwards.

Filled with triumph and feeling she had adequately recovered her pride, she planted her knees on the ground on either side of his chest.

"I have bested you." She said. He grinned lazily up at her.

"So you have." He responded. "You've proved you're quite the fighter."

She frowned.

"Have I made my point clear?" She asked him. He nodded, still smiling.

His hand shot forward and wrapped around her upper arm, and he tugged her down. She fell, planting her hands on either side of his head to avoid collapsing on him.

"You've also met your objective." He said. "You wished to be closer to me, did you not?"

She pulled backwards, leaping to her feet.

"That was a feint!" She exclaimed, stepping backwards, away from him. "To show you your weakness!"

Inigo sat up and pulled a knee towards his chest, resting his elbow on it.

"My weakness to pretty women?" He asked her, an eyebrow raised. She shook her head frantically, looking away to hide her flush.

"That you let your guard down far too easily!" She told him haughtily. "I think we're done for the day!"

She turned to leave and this time he did not attempt to stop her.

Safely outside in the cool early morning, Lucina was free to fume at his audacity. But her anger rapidly faded as she neared the entrance to the castle once more, until all she felt was mild irritation at her own inability to deal with Inigo. She was a pathetic excuse for a princess indeed- her shepherds did not listen to her, and complained endlessly at her training. Her father's shepherds respected and listened to him- they invented strict training regimes on their own. In fact, they almost begged her mother to help them cover their weakness. If they failed in stopping Grima, what chance did a raggedy group of time travellers who couldn't even wake up at sunrise on their own have?

"You look deep in thought." She glanced up to find her mother walking through the corridor.

"Mother." Lucina commented. Robin smiled, stopping in front of her daughter.

"I was just coming to find you, Lucina." Robin said. "I have some good news!"

"Good news is very welcome right now." Lucina admitted.

"We may have found another future child."

Now that caught her attention.

"Another one?" Lucina asked eagerly. Robin nodded, smiling.

"There's a desert oasis in the south east of the halidom- it's rumoured a mirage village hides a secret treasure there." Robin informed her. "And it's also rumoured the village has a protector. I initially dismissed it since the protector arrived long before you did, until it recently occurred to me that the anomalies in the timeline that cause the also of you to be separated may also have resulted in you being sent to different times. So I suspect this protector may be another time traveller- another future Shepherd."

Lucina beamed, grasping her mother's hand.

"Oh mother, that's fantastic!" She exclaimed. "I do hope it's them!"

"Well then, I'll just choose who amongst the shepherds shall go and we can leave tomorrow morning."

* * *

 **A/N: Nice. Ok, now on to the things I have to say!  
First of all, since this IS a next-gen kid fic, I should probably cover who everyone's parents are: Besides the obvious mothers, Lucina's mother is Robin, as was explicitly stated in this chapter (and the last one I think). Inigo's is a bit more up in the air- I imply it pretty heavily in later chapters, but I think I'll refrain from outright saying who it is so that no one is forced to read a particular pairing. I also drop a few hints for some of the others, like Cynthia, but you'd have to be pretty sharp to catch them, and then the rest of the future kids it isn't mentioned at all. I prefer to leave it open since I'm not particularly attached to any pairings except Chrobin and I don't think it has much of a bearing on the plot at all. **

**Second of all, I have a LOT of this story pre-written- like 2/3 of it is pre-written, so I can manage a pretty regular update schedule until I catch up to what I have pre-written so I reckon I'll update maybe every 3-4 days for these first few chapters and then I'll stretch it out a bit longer when I start to run out of material to upload.**

 **Don't know if anyone's actually reading this chunk, but you know. Just felt like sharing.**

 **And the next chapter is *drumroll*: "Cupid's arrow"**


	3. Cupid's arrow

**A/N: I actually have no idea what to say in this space... Enjoy?**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Cupid's arrow**

"It's hot." Morgan announced mournfully. Inigo agreed- he was quite close to regretting volunteering to come on the mission- the desert heat was absolutely stifling. The loose-fitting cotton clothing they had donned to shield them from the sun and sandy winds clung uncomfortably to his skin and his mouth felt dry and rough.

"Put your hood back on, Morgan, you'll get burnt." Ever the faithful sister, the princess of Ylisse made her appearance, her hair pulled back out of her face to reveal the lovely curve of her cheeks, and the shroud she wore over her head cast the top half of her face into shadow. Morgan shook his head.

"Burnt by your beauty, perhaps?" Inigo said, feeling a smile curl his lips. His comment was ignored by the two siblings.

"It's hot. Most of your body heat escapes through your head, why would I trap all that heat in my hood?" He responded, irritated. Lucina pulled back her hood so Inigo was able to see the long, dark lashes that framed her unevenly coloured eyes- in the bright sunlight, the darker eye was a deep intense blue, like a sapphire, while the eye that bore the brand of the exalt was a similar shade to the brilliant blue sky above.

"Yes, but water escapes as well!" Lucina argued back. Morgan shrugged. "And I will not tolerate any complaining if you get burnt!"

Inigo wasn't particularly in the mood for Morgan's brand of complaining, and he was too distracted by the flush that had spread across Lucina's cheeks in the heat. She pushed her hair back, where it hung over her right shoulder, exposing the curve of her neck, and fanned impatiently at it.

"Why did you come over here, in the first place?" Morgan complained as he finally relented, pulling his hood up over his head.

"Shouldn't we just be grateful she did?" Inigo responded, smiling lazily at Lucina. She flushed and looked away, before following Morgan's example and pulling her hood up over her head. Her reaction was plenty reward for him.

"Mother wants to head off soon, now that the horses have been watered- we should be nearing the village." She said. "I was just letting you two know." She turned her head, as if to speak to Inigo, but seemed to think better of it, and glanced away.

Inigo bit back a grimace- he had to admit, he had taken it a little too far in the training room, a few days before. He hadn't planned to go along with his friends' awful plan, especially when Morgan woke him up so early and forced him to head towards the training area, but then he had seen her expression in the training room when she hadn't noticed his presence- intense and frightening, and he realised Lucina really did need to slack off. She wasn't training her friends to strengthen them or improve their performance on the battle field- no, she was trying to cover her own insecurities. And as time went on, and the future grew grimmer and darker, he knew she would only take it out on her friends, and a part of him wanted to kill the seed before it sprouted.

When the horses were adequately watered and the shepherds sufficiently rested and hydrated, they set off once more towards the village. The walk felt like hours in the sweltering desert heat, but they slogged on, eventually reaching the gates of the village.

The shepherds hung back while Chrom, Robin and Lucina approached the village gates. They pulled their hoods down in unison as the village elder approached, his steps slow, and his gaze weary. Lucina's ponytail came loose- it fell down her back over her cloak in a cascade of midnight blue. Inigo watched the movement of her hair for a moment, before Morgan cleared his throat and he turned his head to find Morgan glaring at him.

"May I remind you, friend, that the person you're currently ogling is my sister?" Morgan asked, trying to draw himself up to his full height, which was not particularly tall. Inigo shot him as unimpressed a look as he could manage.

"I would respect that, had it not been for a certain meeting a few days ago…" Inigo began, which quickly silenced the young prince. "Although of late, she's been avoiding me... that time after she tried training Yarne was the first proper conversation we've had in the longest time."

"But you guys always seem so close?" Morgan asked confused. "She's always going to you for advice and you're the only Shepherd she thinks she doesn't need to train."

"Well, we were, but she's been acting so strange around me lately." He said with a sigh. "That day in the training room was the closest to normal we've been for far too long."

Morgan nodded sagely. "I know exactly what the problem is- she's embarrassed because she's madl-"

"Help!" A shrill, distressed voice cut through Morgan's sentence, and Inigo and Morgan turned to see a woman running frantically towards them, her breath coming in desperate gasps. She stopped before the group of Shepherds and doubled over, her hands planted on her knees as she swallowed lungfuls of air. She was an older woman- though her hair was still a deep brown, it was streaked with strands of grey.

"What's wrong?" Lissa stepped forward, pulling back her hood and gently placing her hand flat on the woman's back. When she had sufficiently recovered from her run, though she was still red faced, she straightened and stared imploringly at the group before her.

"My daughter- she was taken!" The woman exclaimed, collapsing into sobs. Her next words were difficult to understand as she gasped them out between hysterical sobs. "The village mage went to retrieve her, but he has not yet returned."

"Village mage?" Inigo asked, glancing at the others.

"That would be Laurent," came Chrom's voice, as he, Lucina, Robin and the village elder joined the group that had congregated around the desperate woman. The time travellers among the group perked up at the name- it was a familiar and welcomed name. Inigo hadn't seen the mage in quite a few years- it had been a long time since he first arrived from the future. "He's been protecting this village for the last five years, and recently a group of brigands seized the oasis."

"Five years?" Cynthia repeated, as the most recently rescued time traveller. "But we only arrived a couple of years ago."

"Some of us arrived at different times." Lucina informed her friend. "Inigo arrived quite a few years before I did, and Morgan only got here a few months ago. Laurent must have arrived long before any of us."

"It also means that we're going to have to take out the brigands holding the oasis if we want to rescue Laurent." Robin cut in smoothly, tugging on the sleeves of her robes as she stepped forward to the front of the group. Every trained their eyes on her, while Lissa calmed the woman whose daughter had been kidnapped to Robin's left. "So I'll need a team to scope out the enemy camp."

* * *

When Cynthia, Sumia and Cordelia returned from scouting out the oasis, they didn't have much information they could provide- they could identify a single archer in the midst, ruling out the possibility of a surprise airstrike, but mostly untrained bandits with swords. However, the camp was well situated enough that they would see them coming no matter what angle they attacked at.

It was discouraging news, to know their only chance at a surprise attack had to be ruled out.

"Perhaps we still can attack from the air." Robin said slowly, her gaze thoughtful.

"There's an archer in the camp. They'll pick us out of the air in an instant." Cordelia argued. Robin shook her head- one corner of her mouth tilted up and her eyes sparked in a look the Shepherds had come to know as her "tactician" look. It was something of a legend- Inigo had heard stories of how seeing that look before a battle meant certain victory.

They were gathered in the village square, having been granted entry, accommodation and rations when they revealed their intent to rescue Laurent, the kidnapped village girl, and to take back the oasis. Robin turned to face the village elder.

"You say the brigands come daily to collect fees for your water rations, yes?" Robin quizzed. The village elder nodded.

"Precisely at sunrise, daily, without fail, since they took the oasis." The village elder said. "Three of them come- though it's a different three each day, with the water, and return to their camp with our money."

His fist shook with anger as he spoke, and he shook his head.

"To charge for such a basic necessity- they're truly monstrous." He said.

Robin grinned, wide and devious, in response to his statement.

"We may have our 'in', then." She announced.

The plan was simple enough in its delivery- stealing the identities of the three crooks who tried to sell the water, a small team could find and take out the archer in the camp and then they could bring in a surprise airstrike with the pegasi.

Which was how Inigo found himself being briefed, along with Lucina and Owain, as the three who had been chosen to pinpoint and disable the archers. It made sense, since the team of shepherds chosen for this mission were mainly healers and Pegasus knights- they hadn't exactly expected to encounter any combat. That meant that besides the Exalt and his queen, the three of them were the most proficient ground fighters in the team.

The others were resting in the village when the time came for the three to infiltrate the camp. Lucina stood at the forefront while Inigo rested lazily against the village gate, squinting at the warm pink of the sunrise as it spilled across the desert, illuminating three figures on camels as they slowly advanced towards the village. A thick leather pouch rested in Lucina's hand, and her face and hair were completely hidden by her over-large hood. Owain was less relaxed, beside him- his hand no doubt rested on the hilt of his sword, though it was concealed by his cloak.

The brigands dismounted and swaggered lazily towards the group of three- one pulled off his hood and pulled down his face covering, revealing a heavily bearded face and crooked teeth, with dark beady eyes glimmering above them.

"You know how this goes." He said in a deep voice, smirking lazily. Lucina nodded, holding out the leather pouch towards him, lightly tossing it up in the air and catching it, so that he could hear the clink of coins inside. He went to grab it, and Lucina held up a hand, a single finger extended.

"The water first." She said, deepening her voice, so it came out in a low, velvety growl. "Then you'll have your money."

The man cocked his head, his ugly smile widening.

"Looks like you losers finally grew half a brain." He signalled to his men, who turned towards their camels, to unload the water. Inigo bit back a laugh- it was almost comical, how ill-prepared they were for an ambush. Clearly they were banking on the isolation of the village, to make a profit, trusting that no one with the strength to fight back would ever visit. They were mere brutes- bullies, with no organisation. Inigo doubted that anyone at the camp would even recognise their three comrades had been replaced with three spies.

In unison, the three of them swung forwards, slamming the hilt of their swords into the skull of the nearest Brigand. Their legs caved easily and they crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"We have to move quickly." Lucina said, discarding her cloak and retrieving the clothes of the unconscious man at her feet.

She looked up when Inigo cleared his throat.

"What?" She asked, straightening with the man's cloak in her hands.

"Just… you're quite adept at undressing a man, is all." He said. He wished for a moment he'd waited until she removed her hood so that he could see the flush of indignation no doubt pooling on her cheeks. Instead, he noted the way her spine straightened just a fraction.

"She did dress as a man for two years." Owain responded, already fitting the brigand cloak over his shoulders. His hand rested on the top of Lucina's head as she slung the cloak over her shoulders.

"This is no time for joking." She muttered, swatting away her cousin's hand and tucking her hair into the back of her cloak.

Inigo met Owain's gaze as he rolled his eyes, gesturing at Lucina and shaking his head. He quickly straightened and dropped his hand when Lucina turned to face him, however.

Soon the three brigands were restrained at the village gate, stripped of their weapons and cloaks and Inigo followed behind Lucina and Owain as they advanced towards the brigand camp on the camels.

Various tents were pitched on the banks of the water when they reached the brigand camp, with various men and women all in the same red cloaks milling around the camp. Few acknowledged the three when they arrived, though one man came up to them, struggling through the loose sand.

"Boss is waitin' for the money." He said lazily jerking his finger towards the largest tent in the camp, slightly spaced away from the other tents. Inigo was thankful that the leaders of these types of set ups always felt the need to set themselves apart.

Lucina jerked her head slightly but didn't say anything- if the man noticed the slightly different builds of his returning "colleagues", he didn't say anything.

Instead, the three made their way towards the largest tent, which faced an open stretch of sand that declined gently into the water, framed by people watching in red cloaks. In the centre stood a hairy man with his hood pulled back, towering over a gorgeous young woman and a familiar looking mage, bound by thick, coarse rope and sitting back-to-back.

The man threw one beefy, hairy arm and gripped Laurent's shirt collar with his huge hand, tugging him up. His glasses were askew on his face and his hat torn and lopsided but still on his head, though it dipped backwards as he was jerked forward. It took a hand strategically placed just slightly in front of Lucina's arm to stop her darting forward and drawing her sword.

"Pay up, and I'll consider letting her go." The man said, spitting in Laurent's face, and Inigo had to physically wrap his hands around the wrists of his companions on either side to stop them doing anything reckless. Laurent crumpled pathetically back to the ground and didn't look up. The young woman beside him, who had a warm, auburn hair and a sweet heart-shaped faced, shifted to support Laurent's weight awkwardly with her shoulder.

"Find the archers." Inigo hissed to Lucina. He felt a tendon in her wrist jump- she was clenching her fist, and the slight movement of her hood told him she had nodded.

Of course, naturally, Inigo was the biggest hypocrite in the group, and his restraint vanished when the leader shifted his attention to the young lady who sat beside Laurent, distressed. He leaned down and trailed a large finger along the gentle curve of her jaw.

"Of course," The man growled roughly, a lecherous grin curving at his mouth. "There are other options for paying for such a… _lovely_ lass."

That was all it took for Inigo to step in, and in a dramatic swirl of the dark red fabric concealing his identity, he cast his cloak aside and rushed forward, scooping the young woman up in his arms and driving his foot squarely into the beefy man's chest.

He stumbled a few feet back before regaining his footing in the loose sand, and promptly roared in outrage, drawing a rusty sword and directing it at Inigo and the young woman.

"What is this!" He demanded. Inigo flicked his gaze around- people were scrambling to action, trying to respond to the threat of an intruder in the camp. Inigo grinned and began slow steps backwards, while the woman in his arms merely stared up at him, eyes wide in terror. Distractedly he noted the lovely pale blue of her eyes, almost the same shade as the desert sky above them.

"Sir!" A voice called, low but feminine, and he tracked the source to Lucina, advancing towards the leader with her head bowed. "Forgive me. I didn't notice the intruder." She crouched down on one knee, and the leader relaxed his grip on his sword a little. He peered down his nose at Lucina's crouched form, and then jerked his thumb at Inigo.

"Take care of him then." He said roughly, sparing Inigo a glance. Around him, people began to still, slowing to watch the show- after all, Inigo was severely outnumbered and wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

She planted her palms flat on the ground as if she was planning on pushing herself back to her full height. Instead, she drove her fist upwards and rapidly jumped to her feet, striking hard against the man's jaw. His head whipped backwards and he stumbled and she crushed a heavily booted foot on the top of his foot and drove her elbow into his temple. He crumpled to the ground and chaos erupted in the camp.

Owain and Lucina leapt into action, easily dispatching the poorly trained brigands that attacked them. Inigo took the chance to retreat backwards behind a tent, letting the young woman to her feet gently. He made quick works of the ropes that pinned her arms to her side. They went slack around her arms before pooling at her feet.

"As much as I'd love to stay," he began with a careless grin. "My friends need me."

He pulled his sword from its sheath and leapt forward. A sword came swinging towards him, and he caught it with the flat of his blade. With a quick twist of his sword he threw his attacker easily off balance and kicked outwards to send him sprawling.

Swept up in the chaos of a battle and distracted by the multitude of attackers descending upon him, Inigo only faintly registered the scream of the young woman he had rescued calling for him to dodge. He didn't have time to when a weight collided with him and he staggered backwards, his gaze filled with a familiar shade of midnight blue. Lucina stood in his former position, an arrow sprouting from her right shoulder.

Owain appeared in a flourishing glint of metal behind the archer that had fired on them, his cloak abandoned and his smile wide.

"Found you." Owain declared, and the archer quickly went down.

Lucina's hand flew up, to catch her shoulder. Her blood smeared across her fingers. She crumpled to the ground.

The signal for the reinforcements went up. Inigo stopped the sword of the man who was attempting to deal a finished blow to the fallen Lucina. Before long the Pegasus knights had descended, the reinforcements from the Shepherds making their appearance.

Lucina's blood stained the sand, though it should have been his.

* * *

 **A/N: I think I forgot to mention that this story isn't beta'd so please overlook any typos- I do my best to catch them all, but there's only so many times one can read their own writing before wanting to delete it, and that would mean no story, so...**

 **I also altered the Laurent side story, in case it wasn't noticeable- I kind of had to so that it would fit into a writing medium, and I do the same with all the future child sidestories (this story covers almost all of them, except for maybe one, which it skims over but you'll find that out when I post that chapter)**

 **Another thing: This story is set during the game- imagine that there's a slight time skip of a few months between when you defeat Walhart and when Validar invites you to his castle, that they recover, and the future kids stay in the castle since they have nowhere else to go and have to ensure the safety of the future and the shepherds go home except when they're called on missions to clear out risen from the area or potentially discover a future child... kind of like this chapter...**

 **Anyways, feel free to review.**

 **Next chapter: Take an arrow for the pretty boy**


	4. Take an arrow for the pretty boy

**A/N: I always find it amusing to write from Lucina's point of view- externally she comes across as quite composed and dignified, maybe a little short-tempered, but internally she's just a mess of angst and a little angry ball of repressed emotions. She's such a little drama queen, ahaha.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Take an arrow for the pretty boy**

It was difficult to wake up. Sleep was heavy and clawed at her and her eyelids would flicker only for it to drag her back down into velvety darkness. At last, she jerked awake, a sort of odd panic hitting her squarely in the chest and her eyes flew open. She was aware of a deep, painful ache in her shoulder, though when she shifted it rapidly morphed into a debilitating sting, sharp and noxious.

"Wakey, wakey." A gentle, warm voice sounded, and Lucina looked down to find Lissa smiling warmly at her, a small wet towel stained with red in her hands. "How are you feeling, Lucy?"

"Bad." Her voice came out in a feeble croak, and though she tried to shift her position, she could not move without sharp pain lancing through her shoulder. "Where am I?"

"You're in one of the houses back in the village- they allowed us to use it to tend to any wounded." Lissa informed her. Lissa wrenched the towel and water dripped into a small basin on a table beside the bed, before moving to Lucina's side to help her sit up. "You should have been more careful. Removing arrows isn't exactly the nicest duty. Though I suppose," a cheerful grin glinted in Lissa's eyes and there was something cheeky about the tilt of her mouth. "A girl in love can't help herself, huh?"

Lucina flushed red, but did not protest, instead turning her head slightly to the left.

"I would have done the same for any of my comrades." She muttered. It wasn't a lie- there was sort of an instinctual desperation that had set in when she saw the archer aiming for Inigo and she had pushed him down before her mind caught up with her body, but she had no doubt it would have been the same for any of her friends.

"But you did it for Inigo." Lissa pointed out, smug, before turning away. "You guys have been distant lately- it's almost like you've been avoiding him."

"We're not that close to begin with." Lucina muttered. Lissa shot her an odd look.

"Well that's a blatant lie, if I've ever heard one. Morgan's told me _all_ the stories."

Lucina didn't get a chance to respond because Morgan burst into the room in the following moment, close to hysterics.

"I thought you were dead!" He declared dramatically, tears pouring down his cheeks as he struggled to embrace his sister.

"It will take more than a little arrow to bring me down, Morgan." Lucina informed him with a little half smile, awkwardly patting his back as he sobbed into her uninjured shoulder. Her parents followed behind him, slower and calmer.

"You're up." Her father said, the relief heavy in his voice and expression as he smiled at her. She nodded, trying to peel off Morgan who was still sobbing hysterically though she was pretty sure he was doing it to be annoying rather than any actual distress.

Her mother pulled a stool up to Lucina's bedside and sat on it, frowning slightly.

"I'm glad you're alright, love." She said with a soft smile, and then her expression hardened just a fraction. "But I still made sure Inigo got an earful for acting like that!" There was something frightening about the steely glint in her mother's normally-warm eyes, and Lucina felt a sting of pity. Her mother could be downright terrifying when she was in the right mood.

She even went so far as to open her mouth to defend him, or to convince her mother not to punish him _too_ harshly, before remembering the careless grin and flirtatious wink he had angled at the young villager and his outrageously showy manoeuvres when fighting the brigands, to the extent that he had almost taken an arrow to the chest. Any defences that she might have had for Inigo quickly died on her tongue and her expression darkened.

"A few extra earfuls wouldn't hurt," Was what came out in the end and amusement sparked in her mother's eyes. "He _did_ blow our cover to impress a girl."

Her father's hand landed on her head and he gently ruffled her hair.

"We'll let you get some rest. Morgan, stop crying, let Lucina have some space." He said, and both her parents stood to leave. It took Morgan a moment, but he straightened and grinned at her, proving without a doubt that the dramatics had only been partially real and his true motives were to irritate her. She glared at him and he darted out of the room with a cheeky grin.

"I'm just about done as well, so I'll let you get some rest, Lucy." Lissa said, following Morgan out the door.

Which left Lucina on her own to dwell with her thoughts. So naturally her first thoughts were of Inigo, much to her frustration. That stupid grin he had shot the girl shortly before he leapt into the fray was stuck in her mind, and had burrowed under her skin. It had only been a few days earlier he'd shot a similar grin at her, full of reckless abandon and a lazy kind of cheer she could never achieve. Quietly, she groaned to herself- it was no secret that Inigo was fond of doling out more suggestive comments to any female he came across, and yet it still bothered her. He had mostly left her alone when it came to his philandering ways, which had, at first, made her feel a little left out, but she had come to appreciate. He had always been one of her most trusted friends- she had simply assumed his lack of advances were a testament to the respect they held for each other as friends. Because they were friends. _Just_ friends. Yet, he had suddenly turned his attention to her, in the training room, in a different way to his normal teasing, in a way that was a little more intentional than just him poking fun at an easy target. It had made her feel strangely good- like he was finally recognising her as a woman in his eyes. Only for him to treat a random girl the same way and remind her just how meaningless his attentions in that regard were. Not that she resented him for rescuing that young woman- just seeing how that man had handled her made Lucina's skin crawl, as if his treatment of Laurent hadn't been the straw that broke the camel's back.

She glanced around the room, then, and noticed, with some relief, that Laurent was sleeping peacefully in another bed on the other side of the room. His parents hadn't accompanied them on the mission, as they hadn't known at the time that it _was_ Laurent protecting these villages. Seeing Laurent was enough for her to decide to continue her brooding elsewhere. She threw her sheets aside and swung her legs off the simple mattress she had been lying on, and slipped out into the hot desert air in the village outside.

She didn't have long- Morgan would soon be back to check on her, and he would no doubt scour the village and drag her back to her bed once he discovered she'd slipped away. Still, it felt nice to stretch her legs and explore the village. She hadn't really had the chance to before they set out for the brigand camp. It was a small village- small mud huts were scattered haphazardly around, and there was a dusty stone path guiding the way between the little homes. She knew from what her mother had told her before she set out, that the surrounding desert was rich in opals, and the village survived by collecting them and selling them. They were a popular jewel in Ylisstol, though Lucina had never seen one- villages such as this one could only get by in times of fortune for the halidom, and she had not come from a fortunate time for Ylisse. Though the inhabitants were well versed in surviving in the desert and finding food, and the oasis was close enough to keep them all well-watered, particularly now that the brigands had been driven off. She slipped between two houses and came across a small courtyard, shaded and secluded from the main portion of the village. In the centre stood a well, though it was probably dried up.

Movement caught the corner of her eye and she ducked behind the corner of a building, peeking out to watch the only occupant of the small space.

Inigo extended both arms ahead of him, one leg stretched backwards, and as she watched, he brought his leg around in a smooth arc to the side of his body and spun on the balls of his feet. Mesmerised, she watched as he gracefully wove through the air. Strands of silvery hair clung to his temples and his hair was ruffled and unkempt as if he had been running his fingers through it repeatedly. He spun across the ground and landed, before kicking off into more movements.

Lucina dared not breathe- it was a rare treat, murmured about in the camp, to have the opportunity to see Inigo dancing. She had seen his mother dance, and many insisted he may be better than her. He definitely held all her grace, and there was something heavier about his movements, more entrancing. He had always been at his most graceful in a dance, and she had only ever had the fortune to stumble upon him practicing once before.

Suddenly, Inigo paused, and dropped his arms, exhaling in a heavy sigh. His back was to her, so she couldn't discern his expression.

"I know you're there." He said, his voice heavy and resigned. She frowned, as she stepped away from the corner she had concealed herself behind. He turned slowly, and when he met her gaze, there was a weary look to his eyes. "Shouldn't you be resting?" He asked.

She was struck then, by how drained he seemed. Perhaps her mother had given him a more thorough tongue lashing than she thought?

A more likely (and more appealing) option, based upon the guilt written into the tired line of his face, was that he felt bad that she had taken the arrow that had been aimed at him. She stepped forward into the small space and his gaze flickered to her shoulder, heavily-bandaged beneath the cloak she had slipped on before she ducked out of the make-shift infirmary. She frowned, just slightly, still staring at him.

"I was, it's just…" She paused- she couldn't tell him she was brooding over his womanising ways. His gaze remained fixed on her shoulder, and she shifted just slightly, breaking his focus. "My eyes are up here, Inigo." She said, cupping her injured shoulder protectively. His eyes flickered up to her and he frowned quite obviously. She didn't like it- he was meant to smile, not frown.

"This is not your fault, you know." She admitted, looking away, unable to meet his gaze when she admitted it. "If that is what troubles you, that is." She shot him a furtive glance from the corner of her eye, and saw he was staring at her with an odd, unreadable expression, before she looked away once more and anchored her gaze on the wall just to her left.

"And on what grounds can you make that claim?" She could hear the slight scorn and self-deprecation in his tone, and glanced to her feet, tapping her toes together before meeting his gaze with a steely determination.

"Because it was my choice." She told him. She wanted to fold her arms but one arm dangled uselessly in a sling. Instead she gripped her elbow with her uninjured arm. "A choice not necessarily confined to you." She muttered. "But it _was_ you, who was in the line of fire, and I would never let that happen, as long as I draw breath."

He didn't respond, and instead advanced towards her, pausing directly in front of her.

"You're not being noble, Lucina, you're being stupid." He said. "If I were to lose my life, it would be another casualty of war, but if you were… if you were…" His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, looking away awkwardly. "If you were hurt, then any hope at a new future is lost."

His words felt like a slap in the face, and she felt her eyes widen. Furiously, she leaned forward and gripped his shirt collar roughly, forcing him down to her level.

"Is that what you think?" She snapped, and he looked shocked and confused at her outburst of emotion. She gripped his collar tighter, wrinkling the material of his shirt in her clenched fist. "That you are just a pawn to challenge fate? That my life is the only one that matters?" She couldn't keep the hurt and anguish out of her voice. He continued to stare at her, confused and speechless. Her gaze fell to his wrinkled collar between her finger, and she loosened her grip, smoothing down the creases. "I…" This was something she had never admitted to them, which was obviously why Inigo thought the way he did. "I didn't just bring you all back to the past to help me change the future… That was why Naga sent us back. But I also did it… so that we could all have a second shot at a proper life, without… without all the pain of war." Her hand fell loosely to dangle uselessly at her side. "So if you were to die, then I would have failed my objective. Your lives matter more than I could ever begin to describe."

Inigo was stunned silent, eyes wide, when she shot him a furtive glance. Emboldened by her own admission, she met his gaze once more and smiled weakly.

"I saw you a while back, with your mother. It looked really… _warm_. Your smile was so… _real_ , and while I don't think I could afford a luxury like that, in the middle of war, I don't think I could handle it if someone tried to steal your smile." She coughed slightly. "Any of your smiles." She amended. Hopefully that didn't sound _too_ much like a confession of desperate love. Not that she was in love, or anything. Not _desperately_ in love. "As the princess, my life is not yours to protect- rather, your life is mine to keep from harm."

Conflicting emotions flickered across his face, and he took rapid steps backwards, his eyes wide and distressed. She frowned- her admission didn't appear to soothe his guilt or distress at all. Instead, he looked worse for wear. Finally, he allowed a weak smile onto his face.

"Big words for someone who's been avoiding me." He responded. Her eyes widened- she supposed Inigo _had_ noticed her recent behaviour. It hadn't been intentional- she tried to talk to him when it was unavoidable, but Lucina had always been poor at hiding her feelings. Since she knew she was easily led by her emotions, she had found it was easier to spend less time with him. There was a less chance of her outing her slightly more than friendly emotions towards him that way. The next thing she knew, weeks had gone by without her properly talking to Inigo, apart from when he consciously sough her out.

"I haven't been avoiding you." She said quickly. He shot her a look that conveyed his disbelief.

"If you think I can't tell when you're lying, Princess, then you are sorely mistaken." He said. "Morgan mentioned something about you being mad?"

That was odd- Morgan was well aware of her… _situation_ , and he knew she wasn't mad at Inigo. (Well she hadn't been before he flirted with that village girl and got her shot by an arrow). It was odd that he had told Inigo that she was mad at him. She looked away, and he sighed tiredly, the smile draining from his face. It made something deep in her heart ache terribly, but she didn't say anything as he turned.

"Get some rest Princess." He told her, before turning to leave.

Frustrated, both with herself and with him, she wandered back on to the main street. Owain practiced in the square a few streets down, and she welcomed the distraction, immediately detecting the weaknesses in his stance.

"Owain!" She called, striding towards him. He stiffened and turned slowly toward her, a grimace clear on his face.

"Lucina…" He muttered resentfully, his grip on his sword going slack and his head hanging like a scolded puppy.

"Your form was atrocious!" She said sternly, placing her uninjured arm on her hip and frowning. "Those moves would never work in battle, they're far too showy, and your stance was off-balance and don't get me started on that grip, the sword would be knocked from your hands in seconds."

Owain huffed.

"Do you dare criticise the great Owain?" He declared, hands on his hips and puffing his chest out dramatically. She nodded.

"I do dare!"

She didn't get to dare further though, because Morgan's shout rang across the square as he appeared on the far side of the square. His blue mop of hair darted towards them at an alarming speed, and Lucina's eyes widened as she took slow, hesitant steps backwards.

"I'll get back to you on this, Owain." She said slowly, before turning on her heel and trying to run away.

She didn't get too far though- blood loss and an injured shoulder were not conducive to sprinting away from crazed brothers and Morgan easily caught up to her, dragging her back to the makeshift infirmary by her uninjured arm, much to her displeasure.

* * *

 **A/N: Lucina needs to chill. Like, seriously, she's so intense and dramatic about everything. Also I don't know if I've conveyed this very clearly, so I'll just go over it here: Lucina and Inigo, before the events of this fic, were quite close. Almost like partners. Then Lucina began to notice troublesome emotions, and started to avoid him as much as possible. After an indeterminate amount of time, while Lucina began to get more and more strict about training the future children, they eventually put Inigo up to falsely romancing her (which he is understandably against), the premise for this fic. I don't know if it's obvious or not in the fic, but yeah, just thought I'd share.**

 **Also, exciting, I got my first review-ers who aren't related to me! *Celebrates* Thank you very much!**

 **Next chapter (this one's a fun one): The fortune teller lies**


	5. The fortune teller lies

**A/N: I'm really excited about this chapter- it's easily a favourite of mine. It has all the shenanigans and silliness I could have hoped for, when planning this story, and I hope it's as fun to read as it was to write!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The fortune teller lies**

"And then, you'll not believe this," Cynthia declared loudly across the breakfast table to Morgan. "She made me do another ten rounds. For tripping! Once! Have you _met_ my mother? She'd have her doing running the perimeter of the castle for all eternity!"

Inigo didn't miss the way both Cynthia and Morgan shot furtive glances at him between their complaints, clearly trying to glean some sort of reaction from him. He ignored them, focusing dully on his breakfast.

"She's just started to go way overboard, ever since she was injured. Like she's making up for her inactivity by increasing our activity!" Cynthia whined pathetically. "And do not get me started on our last sparring session- my _bruises_ have bruises!"

Morgan continued to nod along with Cynthia with an oddly sincere amount of sympathy, considering his next statement. Inigo never could tell if the young prince was being genuine or simply mocking everyone around him.

"She threw out my breakfast the other day, you know." He confided in Cynthia dramatically. "She has to be stopped- some rubbish about it having too much sugar. There was only a _few_ tablespoons."

Cynthia gasped and shook her head.

"Unbelievable. You were just trying to make this awful breakfast edible!" She exclaimed. Morgan shook his head in despair.

"I know, I know. It's just getting ridiculous." He said. His gaze shot to Inigo once more, much more apparent and intentional. "Did you hear that Inigo? It's getting _ridiculous._ "

Inigo sighed, shaking his head, making to leave.

"Wait, Inigo!" Cynthia called in her best attempt at sounding pathetic and desperate. She succeeded. Sighing, he turned slowly on the heel of his boot to find a determined Morgan and Cynthia ready to harass him. Smiling hesitantly, he slid back into his spot.

Truly, he wasn't ready for a grilling, or for them to harass him to take part in their stupid plan once more. He couldn't, in good conscience, do that to Lucina. Not while the memory of her blood caked beneath his fingernails as they brought her to safety was fresh in his mind, and the heavy weight of her body as he helped carry her, made heavier by the knowledge that it should have been him instead. Avoiding him or not, Lucina was still important to him.

"So," Cynthia started, drawing out the syllable, blinking her large eyes with a slight curl to her lips. "Anything to report?"

Inigo shook his head, while both Morgan and Cynthia leaned forward eagerly. Immediately they deflated, before turning to each other with near identical looks of displeasure.

"Why not?" Morgan demanded, a particularly pathetic pout forming on his face. Inigo smirked, just slightly, faintly amused at their attempts to push the plan, but mostly irritated at their insistence.

"I only report to my superiors, dear Morgan." He said. "You don't seem particularly superior."

Morgan folded his arms in displeasure.

"Aren't I your prince?" He demanded, looking faintly grumpy at the implication of Inigo's words.

"Princes don't force such ridiculous plans on their soldiers." Inigo pointed out nonchalantly, and Morgan's eyebrows knitted together. He glanced at Cynthia for support.

"Are you or are you not attempting to court the fair princess, Inigo?" Cynthia demanded, banging her hands on the table and leaning forward sharply in an attempt to interrogate him.

"I am not." He said simply. "I was hesitant before, but now I'm positive- I will not partake in such dishonest schemes, especially when they involve my princess and my captain."

"Wait," Morgan said, holding up his hand. "Why is she your princess but I'm not your prince? That's not fair! And how come Lucina gets to be captain?"

Cynthia ignored him, clearly more upset at Inigo's outright refusal of their harebrained scheme. He met her gaze challengingly and he saw disappointment flash in her eyes- she knew she wouldn't be able to cow him into once again following along, not even with the aid of her peers. His resolve had obviously strengthened beyond the point where a little insistence from his comrades would convince him to do that to Lucina.

"If the plan isn't going well, I reckon a nice date out in the town will fix that." Cynthia said slowly, like she was slowly approaching and animal that would bolt away at any minute.

"I'm not doing it, Cynthia." Inigo said shortly, frowning a bit.

Regardless, since her injury, it had occurred to Inigo that her strict training was not the intense catastrophe the Shepherds seemed to believe it was. When she had spoken to him afterwards, he had realised he had been mistaken. He had thought Lucina's frantic training of her peers had been out of a fear that she would fail, and the future would remain unchanged. But then he recalled the fury in her voice, and the tight pressure of his collar around his throat as she scrunched the material between her fingers. Yes, she had been training them because she was afraid. But it wasn't a fear of failure that drove her- no, a fear of losing her friends had her fighting so hard. He felt silly for not realising it sooner- hadn't she come to him so many times before, stressed about the condition of one of the shepherds? She valued her comrades so much that her life had become a tool to keep them safe. How could he, knowing that, play with her heart simply so that Cynthia could get an extra hour or two to sleep in and Brady would spend a smaller portion of the day in tears than he normally did? He couldn't do it.

Morgan and Cynthia exchanged thoughtful glances before looking at Inigo once more.

"So you're saying you won't help us?" Cynthia asked pensively. Morgan reached for the satchel he kept at his side, usually containing whatever book had caught his interest. Last he had seen, he'd been reading a book on the history of the great Schism.

"No. I won't." Inigo said, attempting to leave once more.

"Wait, Inigo!" Morgan called. "Just one date, please!" Inigo paused, though he really shouldn't have. "We'll leave you alone if you just go on one date."

The suggestion was a suspicious one- what would one date change, that Morgan thought it was enough? Regardless, it was a tempting one, with the promise of peace on the horizon and a break from hearing about this stupid, ridiculous idea. And perhaps a chance to resolve whatever had gone awry between him and Lucina.

"Just one date?" He said slowly, his resolve already caving slightly. That was all Morgan needed.

Really he should have figured out their next move as soon as Morgan reached for his satchel- he would have finished the history book in a day. He had been carrying a tome in his satchel and had probably been itching to try out some of the spells. The sleeping spell hit Inigo like a club to the back of his head and he crumpled to the ground. As the world faded to black, he recalled Morgan's last words.

"Just one little date, Inigo, and _then_ you can decide whether or not to help us."

* * *

He was resting in a grassy clearing, against a tree trunk, warmed by the heat of the sun, when he began to rouse. His first thought was intense irritation. Why did they have to knock him out? Couldn't they just tell him where to be? Why the need for the loss of conscience?

He shifted, and quickly realised he wasn't alone in the clearing when he felt a warm hand lightly grip his shoulder and shake slightly. Cautiously, he blinked open his eyes and was greeted with the deep sapphire blue of Lucina's eyes. She watched him almost curiously, and a faint smile curled at her lips when recognition dawned in his eyes.

He felt slightly disorientated- gone were the deep blue tunics and capes she typically wore around the castle and during Shepherd duties. Instead, she knelt down in front of her in a long skirt and loose blouse, the clothes of a mere villager or civilian. She leaned in close to him- freckles that littered her nose and cheeks caught his attention, and long dark lashes that framed her intensely blue irises. Swallowing slightly, he cleared his throat.

"Lucina?" He tested hesitantly. His voice was husky from sleep and he still felt groggy and uncomfortable. She looked pretty. The skirt hugged her slim waist and without her cape, her neck looked strangely bare, framed by her deep blue locks of hair. "What's going on?"

Lucina straightened and leaned backwards, glancing around the clearing.

"I'm not too sure. Cynthia demanded that I wear this," She said, gesturing vaguely at her attire. "And then dragged me here. She said it was important? She wants us to meet her in the town square. We're just a little ways outside the palace."

Inigo sighed heavily, standing up and offering a hand to Lucina to help her to her feet. With her normal attire abandoned, so too were her gloves and her hands were dry and smooth in his, and far smaller. Irritated as he was with Morgan and Cynthia, he couldn't, on principle, turn down a chance to spend time with a pretty young lady, even if that lady was Lucina. To deny walking her to the town square would be to turn his back on everything that he was. That and he couldn't remember the last time they had spent a day out in the town together.

"Well then," He said slowly, letting a faint smile spread across his face. She peered at him curiously, with a faint frown in response. "We won't accomplish anything hanging around here. Lead the way?" He suggested to her. She nodded, adjusting her skirts which flowed around her gracefully and tugging the hem up just slightly so that she could walk comfortably without tripping on them.

"Don't be mistaken, by the way," She said, keeping just ahead of him so that he couldn't see her face. "I haven't forgotten that you've been _avoiding_ me the past few weeks." A petty sort of resentment and slight hurt coloured her voice while she stubbornly led him through the thicket of trees. The previous times he'd seen her, her walk had been slightly lopsided, because of her sore shoulder, but clearly it had recovered enough for her to walk in relative comfort.

"If you missed me, princess," He responded playfully. "Then all you had to was ask. I'd be happy to spend an afternoon with such a lovely lady. Not so fun when it's you on the other end, though, is it?"

She puffed an angry breath out through her lips and shot him a slight frown over her shoulder.

"I suppose I deserved that." She asked lightly, though he was surprised to see the faint amusement hovering in her expression. It drew a smile to his lips despite his reluctance. "But you didn't have to avoid me, you know." She continued, facing straight ahead once more. They followed along the edge of the castle wall- he could recognise now that he had been in one of the very back gardens, and they had a long walk to reach the town square. The scent of the flowers hung heavily in the air, the hedges that lined the garden path were heavy with flowers in full bloom. Fallen blossoms littered the pebbled pathway, adding speckles of colour to the ground.

"I feel like I did." He admitted. He was surprised by his own honesty, as he quickened his pace just enough to walk alongside her. She stopped and frowned.

"What will it take to convince you that it's not your fault?" She asked earnestly, and he paused to glance back at her. He shrugged.

"I don't think there really _is_ any way to convince me, Lucina." He told her. "It was my fault."

She looked contemplative for a moment, chewing on her lip thoughtfully.

"Then, I propose rather than forget the incident," She said slowly. "That we learn from it. Let's make a promise- during battle, you have to take things more seriously."

"That will hardly fix things." He told her. She shrugged with a smile.

"Well, we can't change the past, can we?" She earned herself a snicker from him at that. He couldn't help it- that statement was rich with irony.

"That's quite funny, hearing that from you! We're all doomed if the princess has forgotten her objective." He told her. She blinked a few time before registering his meaning, and waved her hand a bit dismissively.

"You know that's not what I meant." She told him. They exited the inner keep by the servant's entrance and the dirt path to the castle town stretched ahead of them.

They fell into an easy sort of chatter as they walked- Lucina was eager to know more about the different kinds of dances his mother had taught him and he listened as she detailed her plans to travel the world once they had ensured the safety of their parents. It was rare between them in recent times, and he found himself enjoying their walk- how long had it been since he had been able to comfortably chat with Lucina like this? It was a good day- the weather was pleasant and warm, and Lucina was pretty. Not a bad way to spend the day. He did feel lighter at her words- clearly she held no resentment at his near fatal mistake and he couldn't go on avoiding her like she carried a fatal illness. No, he would just have to be more careful in the future.

With that weight lifted, that meant only one remained in his mind. The motives behind this date. He had no doubts that the others were planning something ridiculous, whether to convince him to carry on with the plan, or to convince Lucina that she was madly in love with him. Given her usual state of distaste when it came to him lately, he was assuming it was the former.

They reached the outer wall of the castle and one of the guards wave them through the gate allowing them to step into the streets of the capital. This area of Ylisstol was lined with well-paved streets, smooth for when horse-led carriages had to enter the castle gates. Bordering the streets, colourful market stalls were shaded from the warm Ylissean sunlight with warmly coloured canvases held aloft with wooden poles driven into the ground. Lucina paused before one, overflowing with handmade jewellery.

"Do you mind if we pause for a bit, Inigo? Cynthia hasn't stopped raving about this stall since it opened the other week, and her birthday is coming up, I'd like to buy her a gift." Lucina said, her eyes already scanning the jewels. They fit Cynthia's taste perfectly- though not into most feminine things, Cynthia always did appreciate dazzling jewels and impressive jewellery, especially now that it was no longer a requirement to wear armour daily.

"No not at all," He said with a smile. He spotted a food stall across the path from where Lucina had pointed out the jewellery stall and noticed that it was close to lunchtime, even if he had lost all that time due to Morgan's unnecessary sleeping spell, and resolved to buy something for both him, and Lucina.

"I'll just be over here, Lucina, just pop over when you've finished." He told her, lightly resting his hand on her uninjured shoulder, and forcing his way through the busy street to the food stall. It was typical street food- fried meats and vegetable with different spices. Being the son of a Plegian, Inigo was rather fond of spicy food, but he knew Lucina couldn't stand the stuff, something her mother often complained about to his own mother. He opted for a sweeter spiced meat in a bun for Lucina and chose some spicy vegetables and chunks of meat wrapped in a flatter bread for himself. Dropping some coins into the merchants hand, he turned to check on Lucina across the street.

Only to find her looking rather irritated as two larger men leered at her. It was easy to glean their intentions from their postures, their faces eager- in the loud bustle, he couldn't discern what they were saying, but judging from the angry flush creeping up the side of Lucina's neck, and her growing displeasure, it was something untoward.

A hot sort of anger flashed through him at the thought of those two lecherous men daring to try their luck with Lucina when she was so clearly unreceptive to their advances. A womanizer himself, Inigo was no stranger to the desire to win over a lady's good graces, but he found himself unable to sympathise with these two men. Gripping their food in both his hands, he forced his way through the crowd and smoothed his expression into a well-practiced, doting smile.

"There you are, my love." He said, clearing his throat. The two men glanced at Inigo, their gazes unfriendly. Lucina turned at his voice, perhaps surprised at his choice of title. He flashed her a quick grin, speedy enough that the two men wouldn't catch it but enough for her to notice and probably disapprove of his next action. He dropped a quick kiss to her cheek, before straightening and smiling at her. "I grabbed us some lunch, shall we head on, darling?"

Her eyes had gone wide and her cheeks had suddenly gone very red. After opening and closing her mouth for a few moments, before shooting a glance at the two men, she nodded hesitantly.

"Yes… _sweetheart._ " Inwardly, he quailed at the sickly sweet venom she had poured into the term of endearment, and covered his fear by turning to face the two men and smiling at them.

"Sorry, lads, but this lovely lady happens to be accompanying me. I do hope you understand." To his relief, the two men scoffed, and turned away, continuing down the market street in the opposite direction, back towards the castle gates.

"Did you manage to find a gift for Cynthia?" He asked, when they were out of earshot. His attempt to divert the conversation was worthless, however, for Lucina was _seething_ when he finally gathered the courage to glance at her once more. The muscles in her jaw tightened as she clenched her teeth, but then surprisingly, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I did." She said, accepting the food he handed her. Once more they proceeded down the street.

"So…" He said, after a moment of silence. They were having a fairly pleasant day, despite the earlier mishap, and he hated to ruin whatever good mood had managed to avert her wrath earlier, but he really had more pressing worries than to ensure this "date" continued on smoothly. "I've noticed you haven't loosened up when it comes to others training." He told her. "Some may even say you've gotten worse than before."

She chewed her food thoughtfully, glancing at him with scrutinising eyes.

"I simply have more time to focus my efforts on ensuring my shepherds are in top form." She told him. He chuckled.

"You know I don't think it would be the disaster you think it would if you let up a little on the ridiculously strict training regimes, princess." He told her. "You may even find the others are more receptive to your criticism when given more reasonable break times."

"I give them plenty of breaks!" Lucina protested hotly. He grinned at her.

"I'm afraid that allowing them to regain consciousness doesn't count as giving them a break." He informed her. Grimacing, she looked away. A small stall, draped in richly coloured fabrics with a single woman draped in Plegian finery sitting cross-legged in the centre caught Lucina's attention. Before her, a ball of cloudy glass sat in an ornate holder, and the woman- it was difficult at this distance to discern her age- swirled her arms around it dramatically. A veil embroidered with highly detailed eyes, a typical symbol worn by travelling Plegian merchants covered her mouth and nose, and her hair was covered by fabric that draped over her head, arms and shoulder and brushed at the ground she sat on. She looked up as they neared the stall, and frantically gestured at them.

Reaching closer, Inigo stiffened- there was no mistaking the round brown eyes that sat above the veil, nor the uniquely red hair visible at the woman's temples. Lucina, slightly less astute when it came to women and not on high alert for meddling friend like Inigo was, didn't seem to register any familiarity with the woman.

"Hello, hello, my pretties!" Cynthia exclaimed, with a distorted voice and an odd accent that was absolutely not Plegian. "I was just going to let you go by, I was, but then I was struck with such powerful visions of the future, I was!" She declared dramatically, stretching her arms outwards.

"You were?" Lucina declared, with wonder in her voice. Inigo's jaw dropped. Lucina had displayed gullible tendencies before- Morgan had divulged the information once when questioned on how he was able to prank her so successfully by Owain- but Inigo himself had never seen it in practice.

"Yes, yes, I was, I was." Cynthia declared shrilly. "I beg you, come closer dear, yes come closer, have a seat."

Lucina sat down reverently and Inigo made a mental note never to let her visit the markets alone- she would be conned out of every coin in her purse.

"You too, as well, young man, you too!" Cynthia exclaimed, gesturing wildly at Inigo. She shot him a look that clearly dared him to do otherwise, and resentfully, he seated himself beside Lucina, who was staring attentively at Cynthia.

"Are you a Plegian fortune teller?" Lucina asked. "I've heard their fortunes are astoundingly accurate."

"Who told you that, princess?" Inigo questioned. Cynthia glared at him, before looking back to Lucina.

"I think Cynthia mentioned it the other day. Funny that it would come up in conversation and then I would meet a Plegian fortune teller for real." She said. Inigo smiled, though it was strained.

"Absolutely hysterical." He informed her, and she looked puzzled at the dryness in his voice. She turned back to Cynthia.

"So tell me, madame, what did you see?" Lucina asked. Cynthia leaned forward, swirling her hands around the crystal ball in frantic movements.

"I saw a great many things when I laid eyes on you, I did- a fierce beast, with glowing red eyes, and a fallen prince, such terrible, terrible omens." She said, and Lucina looked horrified. Then Cynthia straightened. "But I also saw much joy- I saw a woman with the power to change her fate," She started, and Lucina's eyes went wide. "And I saw a happy future with the man beside her."

Lucina blinked a few times, and Inigo spluttered. She wasn't- she didn't really _think_ \- oh boy.

Slowly she turned to Inigo, confused, before turning back to the fortune teller. Her hands shot out and grabbed the crystal ball. She lifted it carelessly from its ornate holder.

"I think this thing is broken, you might want to get it checked." Lucina informed Cynthia, shaking it violently. "We're not… we're not involved in _that_ manner." She informed her, her face a very bright red.

"Maybe not yet you aren't," Cynthia said with a devious glint to her eyes, dropping the odd voice slightly. "But you will be. My crystal ball never lies, dear. You two are destined lovers."

Lucina got abruptly to her feet.

"We are not!" She declared shrilly, yanking Inigo roughly to his feet. "We're leaving." She declared, her voice still amusingly high. She grabbed his wrist, dragging him down the street.

Eventually, she calmed enough for her pace to slow, and release his wrist, shooting him a look.

"We are _not_ destined lovers." She informed him. He grinned, incredibly amused by her reaction, and by her gullibility.

"I agree." He said, a slight smile dripping into his voice. She pointed at him.

"Don't go getting any ridiculous ideas, now!" She declared, stepping towards him. "That fortune teller was _wrong_ \- I saw a crack on the crystal ball, it must be faulty or something. Or maybe the lady is just batty. Regardless, we are _not_ fated lovers!"

Inigo chuckled.

"Are you sure?" He asked her. "I think you're protesting a little too much, princess."

"I'm not protesting too much!" She exclaimed. She paused, then glanced around for a topic change. "Look, a puppet show!"

"Nice try." He said, amused. "I think you're a little too against this idea! What's so wrong with being my fated lover?"

"Everything!" Lucina exclaimed dramatically, waving her arms around frantically. A few people passing by paused to give her an odd look before continuing on their way. She noticed and dropped her arms. "There's no need to be offended, Inigo, I trust that I'm the _last_ woman you'd want to be your "fated lover"." She declared at a more reasonable volume.

"Well," He said slowly. "Not the _last_ woman."

She scoffed.

"I thank you for that honour." She responded. He chuckled.

"You're welcome."

He was interrupted by a loud laugh from the crowd that had gathered around the puppet show. Lucina, clearly fed up with the conversation, turned towards the puppet show.

"I wonder why they're making such a fuss." She said. "I've never seen a puppet show." She admitted.

"How about you watch one with your fated lover then?" Inigo suggested playfully. She grimaced.

"I will, once I find him." She snapped.

"I'm telling you, my fated ally-versary, the princess fell for the prince!" One of the puppets, a crudely made hand puppet dressed as a court jester shouted. An odd expression crossed Lucina's face, and Inigo himself had to bite back a groan.

He should have known they wouldn't leave it at just Cynthia messing with Lucina.

"No way, the prince fell for the princess, who was _wayyy_ out of his league, and _then_ the princess gave him a chance and they had beautiful nieces and nephews for the princess's awesome younger brother to play with!" The other puppet, dressed as what appeared to be a knight, snapped.

"Na-ah!" The first puppet declared.

"Yah-ha!" The other one retorted.

"Do those… do those puppets remind you of my cousin and brother?" Lucina said slowly, her eyes squinted as she tried to process what she was seeing. The two puppets began to fight, to the extent that the sleeves of the puppeteers were visible.

"How about some audience participation?" The knight puppet declared when the fighting abated. Several children seated at the front of the crowd cheered eagerly and waved their arms around, eager to be chosen for the participation. Inigo frowned- surely they wouldn't…

"How about that lovely lady and kinda decent guy over there? The one with the blue hair. And the silver-haired guy." Oh, they _would_. He never should have let them talk him into this date! And there was such a huge crowd in front of them. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't do it. He tried to calm his breathing, suddenly feeling very nervous and panicked. A hand landed gently on his shoulder, not unlike it had earlier in the day.

"Do you want me to go up alone?" Lucina asked. Surprised, he glanced down at her.

"You get nervous in front of crowds, right?" She pointed out. "I can go up alone."

He blinked dumbly, for a few moments, unable to respond- something strange had his tongue tied and his jaws glued firmly shut. He nodded stiffly, and she smiled, just the slightest bit, one of her rare smiles that most only believed to be a myth, the ones that actually reached her eyes instead of the usual lifeless upturn of the corner of her lips.

She stepped to the front of the crowd.

"My er… _companion_ gets a little shy." She said hesitantly. "Would you be alright if it was just me?"

The puppets turned to one another and began to mutter in deliberation. He may have caught the words _jealousy route_ but that may have just been his imagination.

Moments later, a magician stepped out from behind the puppet booth.

Lucina's jaw dropped, as did his own- it was _quite_ clearly Laurent. He had made no effort to disguise himself.

"It is I." He drawled monotonously, glancing at his hand where writing was scribbled across his palm. "The great… _nogiean."_ The crowd looked confused, and Laurent and squinted at his palm, drawing it closer to his face. "Sorry, _magician_. Bad handwriting."

"Laurent," Lucina said, confused."What are you doing?"

He shook his head, and adjusted his glasses.

"No." He responded. "Apparently I'm the great magician. Even though that's not really a name."

Lucina, however, had stopped listening and had ducked behind the puppet booth.

"Ma'am!" The knight puppet declared. "I'd have to ask you to remain in the audience- aaaggghhhh Lucina no!"

The puppets vanished and the unmistakable sounds of a scuffle sounded behind the booth before Lucina appeared once more, dragging Owain and Morgan by the ears, one in each hand. The crowd, by this stage, had dispersed, a few even snatching back the coins they had distributed in the hat out the front. Owain watched the money they had accumulated dwindle mournfully.

"What are you two up to?" She declared. "Was Cynthia in on this too? Because there was _something_ weird about that fortune teller! And Laurent, I'd have thought you'd know better!"

Laurent shrugged.

"They promised me rewards were I to go along with it. I'll be taking my leave then." He said, turning and striding down the street. Lucina released Owain and Morgan's ears and they straightened, each rubbing the shells of their ears. They exchanged disgruntled looks as Lucina folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip in a familiar pose that told him they were about to get scolded.

He made no move to intervene- he couldn't help but feel they had earned it, somehow.

"Alright, you two, what are you plotting? What's with the puppets?" She demanded. "Are you spying on me? Trying to earn some allowance? I hope it's not a ploy to pick up women, because then I'd have to have a _word_ with Inigo about his influence on you two."

"Well, for one, you weren't supposed to find out." Morgan started. "We were just trying to help you have a nice day."

She dropped her arms and stern pose and looked confused.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because it's your first day out since your injury! We heard from mother that it would be an easy recovery and you'd regain full use from your shoulder." Owain muttered resentfully. "So we thought we'd help you have a fun day, since you haven't been allowed out of the castle for so long, and we knew it was driving you nuts."

Lucina was driven speechless, at these words, and her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. It wasn't the fierce flush that occurred whenever Inigo teased her, but a sort of flush, when mixed with her shinning eyes, had an overall adorable affect that would have had Inigo gushing, were he a less composed man.

"I… you guys… M-Morgan…" Lucina stammered. "There was no need for all the silliness! You guys could have just _told_ me what you were doing!"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Morgan asked, pulling his sister in for a light hug. Over her shoulder, he shot Inigo a cheeky wink, and Inigo stiffened. Surely that hadn't all been a lie to cover their true motives? There was no _way_ Morgan was that cunning, or Owain that smooth a liar, despite his talent for theatrics.

"Anyway, we should probably head back now, Mother had something to discuss with us." As quickly as Laurent had before them, the two fled down the road, not without shooting Inigo a look that quite clearly conveyed their intentions in leaving him alone with Lucina once more. Sighing, he glanced at Lucina.

"Your brother is quite the…" Inigo began, unsure of what word he wanted to use. Lucina grinned, just slightly.

"We prefer the word _eccentric_." She told him.

"Well," He said, drawing the word out and lightly wrapping his fingers around her arm. Slowly he guided her arm so that it was resting on his own offered arm. "We still have the rest of the day, and I have no other duties or missions for the day- what's say we make the most of it and have a _proper_ good time to celebrate your recovery?"

Lucina flushed pink, and didn't meet his gaze, though she nodded, and he caught the smile on her face in profile. It warmed his heart, and he found himself grinning.

"Then let us be off, princess!" He told her.

* * *

"No really, it's filled with dozens of names for his weapons and all these doodles of him in heroic poses!" Inigo exclaimed. Lucina threw her head back in a full-blown laugh. It was loud, and light, and he was shocked he had never heard her laugh genuinely before that moment. He wished he had had the privilege to hear it much sooner, but it was still fortunate nonetheless.

"You shouldn't mock him too much, Inigo!" She declared between giggles. "He's very sensitive about it!"

"I was not mocking him- I was just expressing my admiration! Your cousin is quite the wordsmith." He told her with a grin.

They had found a quiet corner just outside the village, where a tree offered shade from the bright sunlight and a place to sit between its roots. With his aid, Lucina pulled herself up on a lower hanging branch, probably not the wisest move when her shoulder was still on the mend, before offering him a hand, though he gently pushed her hand aside and pulled himself up onto the tree with ease, and they both sat on the branch, swinging their legs between them. He had taken her to all his usual haunts, though he was careful not to mention that they were actually his date spots on the rare occasion that a lady would _actually_ accept his offer to accompany them. Lucina swung her legs, smiling to herself. He couldn't keep the fondness from his gaze as he watched her. He hadn't ever seen her let loose to the extent she had today- and what a delight she could be when not burdened with stress and anxiety about the future!

"It's nice to see you let loose for once." He told her, voicing his thoughts aloud. She looked up and met his gaze. "You're always so tense and strict."

She frowned, just slightly.

"Well you know, it's not like I _enjoy_ being that way." She responded, slightly defensive. "I just don't want the others too… we can't afford to… Basilio _died_ , Inigo."

He blinked a few times, trying to register her words. She dropped her gaze to her hands and began to fidget with them in her lap.

"We couldn't avoid his fate, no matter how hard we tried. If I cannot convince him not to march to his death, if I could not prevent it, how can I hope to protect my soldiers? They need to be _better_ … they need to be… to be…"

"Invincible?" He suggested gently, reaching out to rest his hand on hers, stilling her fidgeting.

"No… I didn't mean…" She said quickly, a flash of panic in her eyes. For the first time, he registered the dark circles under her eyes, and the sharper angles of her cheek bones- she had been losing weight, probably eating less due to stress. Hesitantly, he reached his hands towards her face, and when she didn't flinch away, he smoothed his thumbs over the dark purple rings beneath her pretty blue eyes.

"Have you not been sleeping well, Lucina?" He asked her softly. She glanced away, but did not pull away from his hands.

"No." She admitted. "I haven't."

He grimaced.

"Nightmares?" He asked sympathetically. She hesitated a moment, and her gaze slid back to meet his, and she nodded, slowly. "I get them too you know."

An odd expression crossed Lucina's face- a flash of sympathy, perhaps? Of pain? He couldn't decipher it, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"I get them every night, without fail." She admitted, her voice barely audible. "Sometimes he's gone- we got rid of Grima, and right when everyone's finally settled in, and then Grima comes back anyway." A tortured expression crossed her face. "Sometimes I wield the sword that kills my father, and his blood stains my hands. And no matter what happens, Grima's always there, laughing, and mocking my efforts." Her voice cracked and tears pooled in her eyes- something made Inigo suspect this was the first Lucina had admitted the contents of her dreams to anyone.

"You wanna know my method to dealing with it?" He asked her, wiping away the tears that spill down her cheeks. She pulled away and wiped stubbornly at her cheeks herself, sniffling loudly. He awkwardly let his hands drop to grip the tree branch.

"What?" She asked.

"You might find the occasional smile will help." He told her sincerely. Confusion and hurt flashed in her eyes.

"Very funny, Inigo." She snapped, still stubbornly wiping at her cheeks, her voice choked with the effort it took not to cry.

"No, no, I'm not joking this time, promise." He told her. "I mean it- A smile is more than just stretching your mouth, Lucina. They're infectious- they have this strange power to bring joy towards others. And soon everyone will be smiling, and that joy will come right back to you."

She stopped wiping at her eyes, and watched him, considering.

"That's why you keep catching the others fooling around. They aren't slacking off, Lucina." He told her. "They're clinging to what hope they have. No one can survive if they only think about the sadness they face in life. A smile is a promise to look on the bright side!"

"The bright side, huh?" Lucina said slowly, and he could see in her eyes that she was starting to understand his point.

"That's right." He responded with a grin. "And this era has a lot of joy and hope to offer us. Kind of like a large meal to keep you energy going. Stock up on happiness and joy to get you through the darker days."

He held his hand out to her, his palm facing upwards.

"I'll show you what I mean." He said. Hesitantly, she slid her hand into his, and he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before pushing himself back onto the ground, and then aiding her.

He had spotted a sideshow when they were in town, and he led her back towards it- He didn't attempt release her hand, and it may have been his imagination, but she gripped tightly to his fingers, enough that he wouldn't have been able to let go.

This one was a particularly dazzling one- firebreathers and intense acrobatics, and musicians playing a lively, dramatic tune. It was almost a side circus and a large crowd had gathered- it took quite a bit of elbowing and pushing to reach the front.

Lucina watched with a slack jaw, the fire exhaled by the firebreathers glinting a fierce red against the blue of her eyes and her cheeks flushed with excitement. Something warm settled in his chest, like his heart was stretched to the limit when he saw her face.

"It's beautiful." She whispered to him, her voice in awe.

"Just remember that we're saving things like this whenever you feel despair, or whenever you have a nightmare." He said. "And then muster the biggest smile you can manage."

She met his gaze full-on, and shot him the most dazzling smile he'd ever have the fortune to see. He felt like she had knocked the air from his lungs, and slowly he reached out to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, unable to keep the gentle smile from his face.

"Lucina, I-"

He wasn't sure what he had planned to say, because he never got the chance.

"Inigo!" A voice declared shrilly, and a young woman stomped up to them. Lucina flinched away from Inigo right as the young lady, one he vaguely remembered inviting out to tea the other day before deciding to quickly abscond when she had been a little too eager, delivered a painful slap to his cheek.

Lucina watched, a jaw once more slack but probably for the wrong reasons.

* * *

 **A/N: Ahaha that was a wild ride- fun fact, this chapter is 6805 words. Most of the other chapters sit somewhere around the 3000-4000 mark. That means this chapter is double the length of my usual updates!**

 **I actually have a tumblr, if you want to come be dumb with me, or just feel like having a chat about this story- my url is the-protractor. Come say hi!**

 **Oh yeah, and to all the people who reviewed: Thank you so much! I would post individual replies but a lot of you are just guests and there's really no way to distinguish you when you're all just called guest. And I appreciate all the followers, favouriters and just plain readers, too, don't feel left out!**

 **Next chapter: Lucina isn't jealous**


	6. Lucina isn't jealous

**A/N: Let's have a nice, laid back chapter filled with lots of lovely family time. I'll warn you prematurely: There's no Inigo in this chapter. I like to think this story is still readable if we take a break for Inigo. He has some stuff to think over, anyway.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Lucina isn't jealous**

No one would have mistaken Lucina's actions this particular moment for training, or an attempt to hone her skill. No, she had long ago abandoned forms, any practiced manoeuvres or motions, and had instead resorted to mindlessly assault the training dummy with her training sword. Truthfully, she was trying to work off the angry, frustrated feeling that buzzed in her muscles that she refused to admit was jealousy. No, she would not grace that man with any admission of jealousy due to his more amorous activities. Not even to herself. He wasn't worthy of drawing out this ugly side of her.

Except he had. Which was why she was currently beating an inanimate object repeatedly with a wooden stick. Why did he have to be such a philanderer? Couldn't he have been an _ugly_ philanderer whose smile _wasn't_ enthralling and who _wasn't_ strangely thoughtful at the oddest moments? He could stand to be a lot less charming. He could stop asking every woman he met out to tea! It was a lot harder to entertain any hope of reciprocation when he was constantly disproving that by flirting with anything that remotely resembled a woman.

She needed better taste in men, she did. Someone more stable, less Inigo. Less dashing and handsome and with a much less dazzling smile and a lot less infuriating…

She halted her swing midway throwing her head back in frustration. What was she doing? For one thing, she was acting absolutely _ridiculous_ , and she knew better than to dwell on sentiments in times such as these. How could she allow herself to feel such joy as she had when Inigo had led her through the town, when she knew that each day her father could breathe his last, and that a traitor lurked in their midst, yet undetected? They may have won the war against Valm, but the true war, against Grima, was far from over. And yet, here she was, acting like a lovestruck puppy instead of training. She hadn't even woken Cynthia up for her morning run, she had been so distracted, and the sun hung well above the horizon. Breakfast was long gone- it was too hot now to run along the castle perimeter and Cynthia probably had other duties to tend to.

"Is something on your mind, princess?" Sounded Cynthia's voice, from across the room. Startled, Lucina swung around to face her, inwardly berating herself for not noticing her enter the room earlier. "You've been giving that training dummy quite the glare for a while now."

"Uh, um yes." Lucina nodded, not wanting to admit to Cynthia the _real_ cause of her introspection. While Lucina would never dispute that Cynthia was probably the ideal person for her to confide in about issues such as these, she was also a notorious gossip and all the shepherds would know in an instant- Inigo himself included. Goodness knows he did not need the ego boost that would probably accompany the knowledge that the princess of Ylisse herself may have found him the teensiest bit attractive. "I was just… pondering some new potential manoeuvres."

"Is that so?" Cynthia said slowly. She looked sceptical but thankfully didn't push the matter. "I noticed you didn't wake me up this morning." She said slowly, unable to keep the concern from the voice. She spoke like she was coaxing a small child on the edge of tears, as she edged closer, cautiously, perhaps afraid that Lucina would bolt from the room like a frightened doe.

"I was hoping you'd be able to awaken on your own." She said, trying to cover up her own negligence.

"Well I certainly dashed those hopes, didn't I?" Cynthia responded with a snigger. Lucina folded her arms and wore her best stern expression.

"Well, Cynthia, you have to make up for the missed laps- how about a few sparring rounds with me?" She suggested, and Cynthia's eyes went wide, before frantically flicking around the room, probably searching from an escape route.

"I'm afraid I must decline, my lady," She said. "I'm a rather busy woman- what with all the hero duties and whatnot, never a day's rest."

"Is that so?" Lucina asked, only slightly amused at her feeble excuse. "Shall we schedule another day?"

"I just remembered that Frederick enlisted me to help take down some risen on the northern borders, Lucina, I think I'll be busy for the next few days. In fact, I'm currently late for a debriefing meeting, so if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave now." The last part was shouted over her shoulder as Cynthia ran from the training room.

Lucina shook her head. Lately, all the shepherds save Morgan had been making excuses to flee her company as rapidly as possible.

She was not oblivious, though she did have her dense moments, and she held no doubts that they avoided her like she carried an infectious disease because of her enthusiasm for intense training. Still, she could not bring herself to let up- the ever present fear that her friends needed to be stronger, better, would never leave her system. Just the previous day, she had received word that an intense wave of Risen had forced a team of Shepherds to retreat back to the castle, in poor shape, some still unconscious in the infirmary. It made her sick to the stomach and dizzy with fear. It had been some of the older shepherds, like Sully and Kellam, and she couldn't bear the thought that it could just have easily have been her friends in that position. A sort of panicked desperation settled in her abdomen and refused to leave, a similar emotion to when she had spotted an archer nocking an arrow with his sights set on Inigo. She swallowed, her mouth dry- every day, she lived in dread that word would arrive home of another fallen unit, like when Flavia had reached them, heavily injured and eyes lifeless, announcing that Basilio had died.

It was as if his blood had stained her hands- had she not known that he would meet his doom, should she allow him to challenge Walhart? Instead she had foolishly fallen for his bravado and confident reassurance, and now he had paid the price for her naivety. She need only to fall for Cynthia's pathetic whining to ease up on the attempts to build her stamina or Yarne's pleads to avoid another sparring match, and they too may meet a premature end on the battlefield, undertrained and unprepared for the threat that challenged them. She couldn't even keep one man alive, and yet she planned to avert the death of a countless number of fallen soldiers? It was foolish and impossible and the crushing weight of despair hung heavy on her shoulders, and yet she had been silly enough to accompany Inigo on a frivolous outing and had allowed her own petty jealousy to prevent her from enforcing Cynthia's training. She was a failure as a commander, a failure as a friend, as a princess. She had not right to the title. She had not right to-

"How long are you planning to stand there, Lucina?" sounded her father's voice. "Surely you have better things to do than just stand there!"

Surprised, Lucina glanced towards her father. Fresh from a meeting with his advisors, he wore his royal garb, though he had shed the clunky shoulder guard and cape at some point.

"Father!" She exclaimed. He came to stand beside her and leaned forward to examine the wooden dummy she stood before.

"This has taken quite the beating." He commented, taking in the chipped wooden surface. He chuckled. "Venting some frustrations?"

She hesitated, staring down at the training sword which also told of its mistreatment in the splintered surface.

"I suppose you could put it that way." She muttered. "Some morning exercise sounds far more sensible than you make me out to be, though."

"Is that so?" He asked, turning to face her with a smile. She was reminded of when she was a small child and he fixed her with that same smile- the wonder that he could be before her, living, breathing, and smiling would never truly leave her. She nodded. "If you're looking for some exercise, how about another training session with me? We haven't had a sparring match in a while."

Hesitantly, she rolled her shoulder, feeling the slight stiffness of the movement and wincing just slightly. As much as she loved a good spar with her father, she could help but feel she was still handicapped- after all, she was still rehabilitating her shoulder. Unfortunately, it took time to recover from an arrow, according to Lissa, even if one managed to avoid an infection.

"Scared?" He asked, registering the movement. "There's no need for worry- if Lissa's cleared you to beat up an inanimate object, I'm sure you can handle a bit of a head-to-head with your father. Plus, I heard you made Brady cry again, so clearly you've recovered enough if you're bullying your peers."

Irritated at his implication, she shot him a confident smile.

"I can best you any day, father- after all, I'm sure you're starting to feel your age catch up with you." She said, as she crossed the sparring area to stand opposite him. He retrieved a wooden sword from the rack on the wall and took up position opposite her, holding his sword aloft, his stance deceptively relaxed.

"'Tis only experience, Lucina." He said. "Get ready to learn something from your wise father."

She shot forward as he finished talking, pulling her sword back for a swing. He caught her swing with his sword, and the force jolted up her arms- she stumbled back, swinging her sword around to shake the sensation from her muscles as he took advantage of her recovery to attempt to land some blows. She blocked them with ease, though he still managed to force her back, as she took backwards steps to soften the force of his swings.

"Not bad for someone who took an arrow to their shoulder not so long ago." He told her, though she knew she was losing ground fast.

"You're not doing too bad for such an old man." She responded, though sweat beaded at her temples and her muscles began to ache from over-exertion as she had not fully regained her previous fitness levels following her injury. Her breaths became harder as he put her through her paces, widening the battle area instead of continuing to force her back.

One glancing blow threw her sword out, and the twinge in her shoulder from overstretching it told her she had lost this particular match. Chrom was able to recover more quickly than she, and soon he had the wooden sword pressed lightly against the side of her neck- had it been a real sword, a bit of pressure would have been sufficient to sever her jugular. Lucina met her father's gaze- she had lost, fair and square.

"Well, this is a relief." He said, as he took her practice sword from her and replace both on the rack. "I'm not sure I could face the others if they knew I had lost to my daughter while she had a handicap."

"Are you saying I'd beat you were it not for my injury?" She asked, out of breath, as she rolled her arm, pressing her hand to her shoulder, above where the ugly scar left by the arrow was, still slightly raw and pink. Lissa had lamented at her inability to prevent a scar, but Lucina rarely exposed her shoulders and had not been too bothered. Scars were a warrior's pride, according to Sully.

"Maybe in a few years." He admitted with a chuckle. "I still have a few more years of fighting under my belt."

He settled on one of the benches, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"I also have a few more years of experience in being a shepherd than you." He paused, pondering. "Or at least I think I do."

"Aunt Lissa and Uncle Frederick led them until I was 18, when we travelled back into the past, and I know you've been a shepherd since you were 16… so you have about 8 more years' experience than me." She informed him. He nodded.

"Ok, so since I do have more experience, will you heed your older, wiser father's advice?" He asked her.

"Older by six years!" She responded. He chuckled.

"That won't stop being strange any time soon." He muttered allowed. "Time travel." He said with a sigh, shaking his head. "Regardless, it's six years of life experience you don't have, so will you take me advice?"

She frowned.

"Yes?" She responded, hesitantly. He smiled.

"Ease up on the training, Lucy." He told her. "Making your soldiers resent you is not the way to go about building a stronger team."

Lucina was quiet for a few moments- she'd heard it from Cynthia, from Morgan, from Inigo, and to hear it from her father now was enough to give her pause.

"You didn't see the future." She admitted slowly. "You don't know what it's like."

He nodded.

"That's right, I don't." He said. "But I certainly know what it's like to grow up during a war- what it's like to be the commander of your soldiers, and I know what works when it comes to leading them. Overworking them will do nothing but brew resentment and once you lose respect as a commander, it's all over."

"I'm not overworking them-" Lucina protested.

"You are, Lucina." Chrom cut her off firmly. "They have other duties and they know how to train. They wouldn't have been recruited to the shepherds otherwise."

He smiled at her then.

"I have faith in you, Lucina." He told her. "You're gonna change the future, I can feel it in my bones- but acting like this won't help it."

Their conversation was cut off then, by the shrill giggling of a child as a blur of blue raced into the room- it was her younger self, her hair loose and wild, her clothes muddy and her feet bare.

"Daddy!" The younger Lucina exclaimed, as she stumbled towards her father as he crouched to pick her up. It was always quite the experience, seeing herself, especially since her younger self was apparently such a wild and joyful child. She could vaguely recall being quite the free spirit as a child, but it was one thing to recall having happy memories and seeing herself being what she recalled but far more intense.

"Couldn't keep her occupied for too long- what can I say, Lucy loves her father." Came her mother's voice, covered in amusement as she strolled into the training room. "Hello Lucina." She said, as she approached Chrom and took the giggling child from his arms. Young Lucina immediately began to tug on her mother's hair, wrapping the snowy white strands between her tiny fingers and pulling. Robin only winced slightly. "So I just came across a _very_ grumpy Cynthia, and I think I can figure out the source of her mood."

Lucina flushed and looked away.

"Are you here to criticise me as well?" She asked. Robin laughed, simultaneously attempting to free her hair from her daughter's grips.

"Not at all, my love." She said. "But I'm guessing that's what your father was doing?"

Chrom looked embarrassed and rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly.

"I wasn't being _critical_ , Lucina, I was just…" He paused, considering his next word. "Offering some advice that you may find useful!"

"Because you're oh so wise yourself, dear husband." Robin said, with a snigger, shifting young Lucina in her hold. The toddler began to squirm, eager to be placed on the ground. "One second, love, and then we can go play outside." She told her daughter, who then gasped dramatically, and began to bang on her mother's shoulders.

"I wanna play, I wanna play!" She told her.

"I guess I have no time to offer sage advice or to comment on how strict you're being." Robin said. "If it helps, I think you're right in training them and making sure they stay in line. But I think that you're too emotional right now to handle implementing a stricter training session. You know the best cure in times of emotional distress?"

"Play!" Young Lucina demanded.

"Precisely. See, you _do_ know, Lucina!" Robin exclaimed with a grin. "Now accompany your mother outside, because you're proving to be quite the handful this morning, and I'm gonna need all hands on deck to keep you occupied."

Outside it was another gorgeous day, as expected in the heart of an Ylissean spring- the air was scented thickly with flowers, and the colours around her seemed so much more vibrant and intense in the bright sunlight. The palace garden was enclosed on four sides by walkways, thick pillars separating the palace corridors from the courtyard in its centre. Lucina remembered it burning when the Risen had attack Ylisstol, remembered rushing passed this garden and seeing bodies in amongst the heavily flowered bushes and the scent of burned flesh covering the usually fragrant scent.

Robins settled beside a flower bed blanketed in daisies and began to demonstrate how to make a flower crown. Lucina watched for a moment, recognising the scene before her as one amongst her earlier memories. The memory was like a warm blanket and a nostalgic ache pulsed in her ribcage as she hesitantly sunk to her knees on the grass. Robin settled a crown of bright yellow and snowy white daisies on her younger self's head, much to her delight, as she turned and scrambled towards Lucina.

"Look!" She exclaimed. "Now I'm a real princess."

Lucina bit back a smile, and nodded.

"Lucina is a princess too, Lucy." Chrom said, coming up behind them, having linger behind in the training room to lock up. He settled into the grass beside Lucina's younger self. Lucy shot Lucina a glance, suspicious, a frown creeping across her face.

"Then where is her crown?" She asked, before grabbing the crown that sat atop her head. "Does she want mine?"

"Why don't you make one for her?" Robin suggested. Lucy glanced contemplatively at the flower bed, before grabbing at Lucina's hand, and dragging her towards it. Lucina shuffled awkwardly across the ground on her knees, before sitting down beside her mother. Lucy began to point at random flowers and her mother plucked them for her, before aiding her small fingers in twisting stems around to weave them together.

"I want daddy to help." Lucy announced. Robin laughed lightly.

Chrom opened his palms and she placed the partially made wreath of flowers in his hands.

"So," Robin started, though her gaze was on her husband and daughter as she spoke.

"Here we go…" Lucina muttered to herself. Robin chuckled just slightly, leaning back on her arms and extending her legs out in front of her. She hadn't attended the meeting with his advisors, for she wore simple trousers and a tunic. Her usual cloak was nowhere in sight, probably left in her room as it was far too warm to wear it.

"I'm guessing you know what's on my mind, then." Robin said. "How have you been doing?"

Lucina blinked a few times, caught off guard.

"Pardon?" She responded. Robin met her gaze sternly, something searching in her expression.

"I want to know how you are." Robin responded.

"How I am?" Lucina echoed. Her mother smiled, though it was more a twist to her lips than an actual smile- her gaze remained sharp and perceptive, like the tactician who could read an opponent in an instant.

"You seem to be having trouble comprehending my meaning." Robin said, her gaze softening just the slightest bit. "I'm not the chief tactician of Ylisse for nothing, Lucina. And I know you. You don't waste time or resources, but you have trouble separating your emotions from your duties. You're not pushing your friends because you think they're out of shape or are bad soldiers. Something's bothering you. So I'll ask again- how have you been doing?"

Lucina was quiet for a moment, watching as her younger self tried to place the wreath of flowers on her father's head. He leaned forward with a smile as she stretched forward on her tippy toes.

"I'm scared." She admitted, softly. "Of losing them. Of losing everyone. Of losing this war."

Robin nodded.

"I know the feeling." She said, with a slight laugh. "It's a lot of pressure for one person to carry, huh?"

Lucina looked away.

"You didn't fail Basilio, you know." Robin said suddenly. "He knew what he was getting into."

"He still died though." Lucina said, bitterly. Robin shook her head.

"Even if he did, that isn't your fault. And you did plenty to save him. You even changed the tide of the battle." Robin said. Lucina shook her head.

"I didn't though- we always won this battle, but we lost Basilio in the process. This is exactly the same as the future I come from, it's just happening more quickly than it did." She told Robin.

"Well then, that's proof enough that you're having an effect, isn't it?" Robin said with a smile. "I can see you won't be convinced, though. You'll see, soon enough."

She stood to her feet and dusted off her trousers, before offering her daughter a hand.

"Now enough of this talk- let's find your brother and make a _real_ family day out of this."

True to her word, Robin didn't bring it up again- instead, both she and Morgan poured all their energy into what Morgan had termed the 'funnest day ever', complete with all the shenanigans that could occur when Morgan and her younger self spent the day together. Once more, Lucina found herself smiling against her will, like she had when Inigo had taken her through the town. She must have dozed off, at some point, perhaps as they played in the gardens with her younger self, because she had the distinct sensation of being carried as she slowly roused. She recognised her father's head, and realised he was carrying her on his back, back to her room.

"Sorry." He said, feeling her stir. "I didn't mean to wake you."

She yawned in response, still drowsy and already starting to drift of once more.

"Lucina." He said, softly. It felt as if the words came from very far away. "If you're stressed, or upset, you don't need to take it out on the others. You can always come to us. We're here to help you."

Those were the last words she remembered before she drifted off to sleep once more.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, don't you just feel relaxed and well-rested? I feel like Lucina was so highly-strung and stressed out, she needed a chapter of lightness and happiness, and people to take her mind off things. I'm glad she has a loving family willing to do that. Kind of miss Inigo- Don't worry, he's back in the next chapter. He needs some time to stew over some things before I start throwing stuff at him- time for him to make some real character steps! He's been pretty passive up until now, I think, so it's time to boot him into action, ahaha.**

 **Once again, I have a tumblr, if you want to come hang. My url is the-protractor!**

 **I reckon I can do guest reviews this chapter, so nice!**

 **Guest: Thank you so much for reading! It's really exciting how you're trying to guess all the characters parents- to be honest, that was part of my motive in not clarifying the parents. I think it's more fun if readers get to guess, don't you think? I considered dropping a massive hint about Cynthia's parent in the current chapter I'm up to, just as a sort of shout out to you, but I left it really subtle, in the end, so if in a future chapter you see any major hints, know that it's a shoutout to you! I won't confirm or deny your suspicions though ;) I'm really happy you're enjoying it, and I hope you continue enjoying it!**

 **John101: Hey thanks for reviewing, this time and last time! I'm really heaps grateful you took the time to let me know you were enjoying the story. I plan to keep updatingg! I'm up to about chapter 11, so a fair bit ahead of what I'm posting, but I'm hoping to stay well ahead until the end!**

 **Next chapter: Severa and her Bad Timing**


	7. Severa and her Bad Timing

**A/N: We have now reached the halfway point! This story is half over! Writing wise, I still have three more chapters to write before curtain call, but lucky for you guys, you still have plenty of material to get through before having to wait on me be a loser and write. It might be hard to find time- I do quite a work-intensive degree at uni. Oh well. It took me like, three weeks to write the latest chapter (Not this one, the latest one I've written, because I've prewritten most of this story). Hopefully the next few don't take quite as long.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Severa and her Bad timing**

"So which one is this Holland fellow?" Inigo whispered, as Severa peered over the top of the broken wall that concealed them from the camp of bandits. "Can we get to him without engaging- Severa!" He hissed as she darted out from behind the wall and began to run straight at the camp.

"Urgh!" He groaned, running a hand through his hair in frustration, as he scrambled to his feet, ready to follow her. They were supposed to protect her while she found her friend Holland before they launched a proper attack on the camp. He knew teams had already surrounded the camp, waiting for the signal from Morgan that it was ok to begin the ambush.

Morgan followed, close on his heels, as they darted after Severa- a single guard lingered just outside the line of tents, probably keeping watch, but Severa had him on the ground unconscious before he could shout a warning.

"So," Morgan said. "How are things going with my sister?"

Inigo had half a mind to argue that on the verge of a mission going bust because of the reckless nature of the surprise addition to their team, it was _hardly_ the time to discuss with Morgan whether he had been successful in any attempts to romance Lucina.

"I thought you said you'd leave me alone if I went on the date." Inigo responded as they ducked behind a tent. The camp was like a maze- a few tents up, Severa peeked around the corner, trying to spot anyone out of their tent. In the clear, she jogged up between a pair of tents and vanished behind them. A small cluster of tents clearly acted as a guard for the enemy encampment- further ahead, larger tents lined more closely and organised better were visible. That was where the bulk of the bandits had taken refuge.

"That was before you pulled a stunt like that!" Morgan argued. "What were you think, asking some random out to tea when you're _supposed_ to be courting my sister!"

"Since when did that require exclusivity on my part, Morgan? I thought I was just supposed to be getting her to lighten up a bit." Inigo snapped. "And if you really want to know, she hasn't spoken to me since that day- in fact, I'd go so far as to say she's been completely ignoring me. It's even worse than before- she won't even _talk_ to me now."

A man appeared, spotting the two intruders and running at them. Morgan stopped running and tossed an arm out carelessly, taking down the man with a badly aimed arcwind spell. He dropped his arm and glared at Inigo.

"Maybe she wouldn't have done that if you weren't such a… such a…" He hesitated, searching for a fitting term.

"Charming man, who is also popular with the ladies?" Inigo suggested with a smirk.

"A philanderer!" Morgan spat out, ignoring Inigo's suggestion. "You know what, I picked wrong! I thought you were the best man for the job, but you're _not_! You're the last person who will ever make my sister happy. I'm calling this plan off."

And with that, he turned on his heel and strode off in the direction Severa had taken, leaving Inigo alone to swallow his anger and follow quickly after them.

"You were already _supposed_ to have called the plan off." Inigo muttered resentfully to himself.

A hand landed on his shoulder, and Inigo spun around, throwing his arm up to throw the hand off. A bandit stared at him, taking rapid steps backwards and nocking an arrow.

"There are intruders!" He shouted loudly. "Intruders are in the camp!"

Inigo almost swore- they were exposed now, separated, in the heart of the enemy camp. Removing his sword from its sheath, he could only hope Morgan had the good sense to send up a signal to call for back up as people began to emerge from their tents- most of them seemed to have been closer to the centre of the camp, possibly having dinner together in a mess tent. The area Inigo was in was sparsely populated and the tents were organised less evenly. A man holding an axe in two hands approached, to aid the archer.

Inigo ran at the archer who had originally spotted him, who threw a punch at him when he realised he was being targeted. Inigo ducked under the swing and threw his weight forward, knocking the archer to the ground, before spinning and swinging his sword outwards to catch an axe that had come plummeting towards him. He kicked outwards to throw the man wielding the axe backwards, but the archer took advantage of his position flat on the ground and crawled forwards, clinging to Inigo's leg.

His balance thrown off, Inigo fell forwards, though the man with the axe had also stumbled back. The archer scrambled forward, and threw his weight on Inigo to keep him pinned down as the axe bearer recovered. Gripping a handful of hair in his hand, he yanked Inigo's head roughly backwards.

"How many of there are you?" He demanded. "Are you alone?"

Inigo attempted to grin but it probably came out as more of a grimace, unable to keep the pain from his face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He said. Enraged, the axebearer aimed a kick at Inigo's face. His boot collided with his cheek bone and Inigo's head cracked to the side. He couldn't keep the cry of pain from surfacing. The taste of blood filled his mouth.

A bright light illuminated his attackers- all three turned their heads to witness a brilliant arcfire spell climbing skywards, closer to the centre of the camp, a signal from Morgan for backup. The archer pressed Inigo's face into the dirt, and he grit his teeth, trying to ignore the pain lancing across his face.

"What was that?" The axebearer demanded, holding the heavy axe aloft as if he meant to swing it down.

Instead his grip went slack and the axe fell from his grip- the man crumpled uselessly to the ground.

"It's a call for backup," a familiar voice sounded, deep for a woman but silky like velvet and sweet as honey.

Moments later, the weight pinning Inigo down was gone- quickly scrambling to his feet, a wave of dizziness overcame him, and he crouched to regain his bearings. It was dangerous, he knew, but his vision swam and he gingerly touched his cheek and felt the heat of swelling and sticky droplets of blood.

A cry came from the archer that was quickly silenced, and then Inigo felt a presence beside him, gentle hands pushing the strands of hair that clung to his cheek away. He doubted she could see the damage that had been done in the meagre light offered by the pale moon. Moments later she withdrew and straightened.

"Where's my brother and Severa?" Lucina asked. "Did you get separated?"

Inigo straightened, brushing off the dirt that would surely smear his clothes and armor.

"I think they made it to the centre of the camp." He said.

"Are you hurt?" She asked. He spat to the side, trying to rid his mouth of the bloody taste and smiled gingerly- it stretched his cheek though and he winced in pain.

"Nothing serious." He told her. Lucina didn't respond and instead strolled towards where the dispatched archer lay, retrieving her sword. Falchion glittered in her hands.

"Your orders are to retreat." She told him- her voice was leeched of the prior concern that warmed it and was instead ice cold. He winced- he had almost forgotten that she was ignoring him.

"Lucina," He started, aware that sitting on the outskirts of an enemy camp was not the best place for conversation, but unwilling to prolong this particular exchange any longer.

"Retreat, Inigo." She said, coming to stand in front of him. The moonlight lit her face, tracing the curves of her cheeks and the gentle line of her jaw. In the night her sapphire eyes had darkened to the same hue as the inky black sky above, and the lack of light left her standing before him as a colourless, silvery shadow. "Your duty is done."

"I can still fight." He protested.

"Listen to me!" She snapped. "This isn't your decision. Direct orders from my mother- to evacuate you, Severa, Morgan and Holland as soon as possible."

The sounds of metal hitting metal and battle cries became clear- a horse whinnied its distress, and a pegasus knight glided with the moonlight gilding its wings before disappearing behind the line of tents.

His friends and comrades still fighting, in the main section of camp.

"Your mother's strategies never fail, I suppose." He said slowly. Lucina nodded. "Are you still going to fight?"

"I have to find their commander and take him down." Lucina said.

She turned away from him and began to run towards the camp. He wanted to call after her to stay safe, but the words lodged in his throat. He watched her for a few more moments before turning to retreat back to their own camp.

* * *

He was forced to wait in the medic tent for hours after that when he made it back to the camp. Morgan and Severa had already returned, along with a short, weary villager who was the very Holland Severa had demanded that they rescue. Sully had sustained a nasty injury when her horse threw her off in the heart of the attack, and so the healers were busy tending to her, leaving him to wait for his cheek to heal. Cynthia appeared at one stage to recount to him the touching reunion Severa had had with her mother, and also to cheerfully inform him that his good looks were officially ruined thanks to the ugly swelling on his cheek and the bruising that discoloured his skin down to his jaw. The kick had done some nasty damage to his face, nothing that wouldn't be fixed by a quick mending spell, and had the damage been anywhere but his face, Inigo wouldn't have even bothered to wait in the medic tent to heal up. He found it strange, as a result, that Lucina had forced him to retreat as she had. Sully was being tended to in the privacy of her own tent, leaving Inigo alone in the medic tent.

He spotted Lucina at one point- her gaze swept around, searching for any injured shepherds. Her gaze landed on him, and something passed across her face- worry? Concern? She turned and left the tent rapidly when she realised he could see her. A short while later, Cynthia returned with Owain in turn, muttering to themselves, before coming to pause in front of Inigo.

"Did you and Lucina fight?" Cynthia asked, her arms folded across her chest. She was still in her armour, and splatter of blood coated her cheeks. Inigo shrugged.

"We heard that Morgan betrayed us!" Owain declared. "I can't believe he would abandon the plan. He always had it the easiest out of all of us, besides you. It's probably why he lacked any loyalty towards the cause. Also your face looks awful."

Inigo sighed, leaning back on the mat that had been laid out for him.

"Right now, that stupid plan is the _last_ thing I want to talk about." Inigo told them wearily. "I'd really appreciate it if you could just drop the matter. Just train harder- what's the harm a little extra training is doing anyway?"

Cynthia and Owain exchanged looks.

"That's not all it is, Inigo." Cynthia huffed, offended. "It's how she's treating us, how she's talking to us- how can we function with her as our commander if she keeps acting like this?"

"I won't do it Cynthia." Inigo said. "I can't do that to her. I won't court her dishonestly."

Cynthia and Owain were quiet for a moment.

"Inigo," Cynthia said slowly, an odd tone to her voice. "You haven't… you haven't _fallen_ for Lucina, have you? I mean I know you guys are close, but…"

Inigo spluttered stupidly for a moment, unable to form words at her question.

"What… what kind of question is _that_?" He asked, his voice embarrassingly high. Cynthia watched him closely, her eyes slightly squinted.

"Well it's just… why do you care about courting her properly?" She asked, her voice needling. "Would you rather we get someone else to do it?"

Inigo was silent, but something felt uncomfortably tight in his throat.

"See?" Cynthia said. "You don't like it!"

"Why not just court her genuinely, then?" Owain suggested. Inigo shot him a look that he hoped conveyed how stupid he thought that idea was. "Well, it's not like we're saying do it half-heartedly. We do care about Lucina, after all. It's just… beneficial for all of us, if you succeed in getting her to fall for you. You get to be with her, and she stops hassling us all so much."

"If it bothers you that much, then don't think of it as a scheme, Inigo!" Cynthia said, punching her fists outwards enthusiastically. "Just think of it as romantically pursuing her! Which, you _clearly_ want to do anyway."

Owain signalled something to Cynthia, and they both left. Inigo sat alone, feeling uncomfortable, a kind of itchy heat crawling across his skin. Court her… genuinely? Romantically pursue her? He wasn't sure he felt that way about Lucina… no, he _didn't_ feel that way about Lucina. Because that would mean… that would mean…

His heart pulsed hard and uncomfortably in his chest, and his face felt hot. No, they were being stupid. It was a stupid idea, put forward by his idiot friends, and he did _not_ hold any romantic feelings about Lucina. He simply admired her, was all. Admired her courage and heart. And yes, he found her attractive, but who wouldn't? She was gorgeous- midnight blue hair, deep sapphire eyes, and the kind of delicate, gentle face that could make a lesser man lose his mind. He was no lesser man, though! He was Inigo! Besides, they could never work together. How could they, when there wasn't even a guarantee that either of them _had_ a future to look forward to? Not like she was talking to him right now anyway- wasn't that proof enough that he didn't have a chance with her?

A ruckus sounded outside and moments later Owain and Cynthia appeared _again_ \- this time with an angry, struggling Lucina hanging over the shoulder of her cousin. Owain walked up and dropped Lucina carelessly in front of Inigo. He then turned on his heel and both he and Cynthia left, discussing the likeliness of recruiting Brady to add a light show to one of their showy attacks.

Lucina sat on the floor beside Inigo, where Owain had dropped her, avoiding Inigo's gaze and staying quiet, apart from shooting him a few furtive glances.

After a few moments of silence, Inigo decided it wasn't going to be her to break the silence.

"Falling back into old habits and avoiding me again, eh Lucina?" He asked her. Her spine straightened, and she looked stubbornly away.

"I've just been quite busy lately, you know, with um, things that I had to do." She answered after a moment, waving her hand dismissively.

He stared at her, as she started fidgeting with her fingers. Her cheeks were rosy and her hair fell in a curtain around her face. His resolve strengthened- it would be absurd, to pursue her romantically. How could he, when their life together would ultimately have roots in deception? When he knew that there was an ulterior motive in him pursuing her?

"How's your smiling practice going?" He said suddenly. "I thought you were supposed to be smiling more? That is certainly not a smile on your face."

An odd expression crossed her face.

"I'm not really in the mood to smile." She responded simply. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Remember what I taught you- smile until you feel happy!" He told her cheerfully.

"I would really rather not." She responded grimly.

"Come on," He whined. "Just one. One teensy little smile." He leaned closer, hoping to catch at least the slightest curl of her lip. She shifted backwards.

"Why don't you try smiling?" She retorted. "Can you even smile right now when you've hurt yourself?"

He held his fingers lightly to his face, still hot beneath his fingertips.

"Such a shame." She said, shaking her head. "Your handsome face is a wreck."

He couldn't stop the smile then- it pulled at the corners of his cheek and he made an odd noise and grimaced as his cheek throbbed in pain. He leaned forward, holding his fingers to his cheek.

"What is it?" Lucina asked quickly, shuffling forward and cupping the backs of his hands with her own. "Are you in pain? Inigo!"

He started chuckling then, his shoulders shaking, before a hiccupping laugh broke through his lips and he tilted his head back up just the slightest angle so that he could meet her gaze with his own, his smile crooked to avoid aggravating his injury. Her eyes went wide.

"So you think me handsome?" He asked her, and she blinked, confused, dropping her hands from his. He could see the gears turning in her mind as she tried to process his words, and her jaw dropped.

"No… it was just an expression?" She said, hesitantly. "I didn't mean that _your_ face is handsome- because it's _not_ , I meant handsome like… Urgh." She groaned.

He chuckled.

"It's alright." He told her. "You wouldn't be the first lady to fall for my heavenly good looks."

She scoffed, and turned around folding her arms across her chest.

"In your dreams, Inigo." She muttered.

"Still no smile!" He exclaimed, crawling forward and leaning over her shoulder to examine her face- not even the slightest twitch to suggest she was fighting back a smile! Inigo couldn't believe that anyone could be so inherently grumpy. Surely all his joking by this point should have at least generated the slightest snort, or a gentle curve to her lips?

She shot him a look, and leaned away- was that a slight red tinge he detected to her cheeks? Or was it just a trick of the lamplight?

"Why would I smile for you?" She responded.

For some reason, the urge to smile he had felt before melted away at her words, and an unexpectedly heavy feeling sat in the base of his throat. Why would she smile for him? What was he to her? Not a lover, barely a friend, just a mere soldier in her army? He swallowed uncomfortably, trying to dislodge the sensation.

 _You haven't_ fallen _for Lucina, have you?_

The words came unbidden to his mind. He felt like his heart had dropped to his stomach- hesitantly, he took her appearance in. Her cheeks were smudged with dirt, and she had a small cut at the corner of her lip. Her hair clung to her temples and fell chaotically around her face, and her eyes were wide, two sapphire blue irises hiding between thick lashes. Everything about her face was familiar, the same face he had known since he was a small child. She had ended up smaller and younger than him, somehow, due to the time travelling mess they had been through, yet somehow she still had that unattainable maturity that had made her seem miles away when he had been a small boy. Yet somehow, her face was also unfamiliar- a cold burn to her eyes that came from having seen too much, freckles that littered her face from so much time out in the sun. A thin scar traced her cheek, almost unnoticeable except to those who knew to look for it. Had he ever really looked at her?

"Inigo?" She said, hesitantly. Hesitantly, he willed a smile onto his face once more. It hurt to smile, yet he kept it in place.

"Lucina." He said, his tone serious. "You leave me no choice."

Confusion crossed her face as he dove forward.

"Wh- what are you…"She moved backwards in an awkward shuffle, leaning her weight on the palms of her hands and soles of her feet before losing her balance and landing flat on her back. He hovered above her and he dug his fingers into her side. "Get your hands off me!" She demanded, her voice slightly panicked before choked giggles began to escape from her.

"Stop that!" She demanded between shrill giggles. He laughed in triumph.

"I do believe that is a smile on your face, princess!" He exclaimed, relentlessly tickling her. She curled backwards and made a grab at his hands, trying to stop him.

"Stop this instant," She gasped. "Before I chop off your hands!"

She punctuated her threat with a desperate flail of her arms. The back of her hand smacked painfully against his cheek.

Once more, white hot pain flared in his cheek and with a pathetic yelp, Inigo rolled sideways, cupping his cheek.

"Aaaghhh." He groaned, lying flat on his back. Lucina sat up, out of breath and her eyes wide.

"I'm so sorry, Inigo!" She exclaimed, spinning around so that she knelt beside him. She wrapped slender fingers around his wrist to tug his hand away from his face and leaned forward until her hair brushed the ground next to him, to examine where she had hit him. He let out another pathetic groan. Some Shepherd he was- taken out by a simple bruise on his cheek. Should Owain or Morgan hear about it, he would surely become the laughing stock of the camp. Gently, Lucina smoothed her fingers around the unmarred skin on his face. He lay still, on his back, until her fingers skimmed over the bruised and fevered skin.

He flinched and sat up and almost banged heads with her in the process.

Lucina's gaze flicked to meet his, surprised by his sudden movement. When her gaze met his, something in the atmosphere shifted, like the air was suddenly alive and crackling with electricity.

"Sorry." She said, in a rushed exhale- he could feel the warmth of her breath skate across his cheeks. His throat felt dry suddenly, and he swallowed but the sensation remained.

"I'm sorry." He told her. "About… about the other day."

She shook her head and wet her lips. His gaze flickered down, his attention grabbed by the movement.

"No…" She said slowly. "I… I was out of line. I shouldn't have just ignored you. And I'm sorry for avoiding you before that, as well." He watched her lips form the words carefully, and they hung in the air between them. Slowly, he let his gaze travel upwards, taking in the gentle curve of her cheeks and the freckles on her cheeks. Finally he met her gaze once more, the dizzying sapphire blue. At this close proximity, he could easily see the brand of the exalt encircling her pupil. Something set in her eyes, like metal that cooled rapidly, and slowly her hand came up to rest against his uninjured cheeks. Suddenly it was a lot harder to breath, like the oxygen had been sapped from around him, and his heart throbbed somewhere in his throat. He swallowed again, feeling heat spread across his skin.

"Inigo," She said, and the tone was breathy and shaky, and her eyelashes fluttered slightly. Was that slight panic in her face? Nervousness? What was she uneasy about? "I…"

She swallowed, and broke eye contact. He felt like she'd snapped something tangible between them.

He wanted to kiss her. The thought was unwelcome and outlandish but it pierced his mind. Then the panic set in- he _really_ wanted to kiss Lucina. How could he want to kiss Lucina? Was Lucina leaning closer? Her breath gusted against his lips- he needs only tilt his chin a bit up and their lips would make contact. The thought was crazy- _insane_. He couldn't kiss his princess!

And yet…

 _And yet..._

"Lucina!" A harsh voice shouted and both flinched and flung apart, putting a more respectable distance between them. Severa appeared, and registered the two of them sitting closely together. She made a noise of disgust and raised an eyebrow. "Am I interrupting something?" She asked, sounding incredibly unimpressed.

"No!" Lucina said quickly, at quite an unreasonable volume. "No." She said again, clearing her throat at a more reasonable decibel. Severa swapped her gaze between the two of them, her expression sceptical and a little disgusted before she shook her head with a sigh.

"Ok, whatever." She said. "I wanted an update on how the whole changing the future plan is going."

She smirked.

"I can come back later if you guys are busy though."

It was that moment, with his heart thundering in his chest and with the urge to kiss Lucina undiminished despite Severa's interruption, that Inigo realised he may be in genuine trouble.

* * *

 **A/N: Ooooohhhh exciting- Inigo is feeling feelings! Oh my goodness!**

 **So, you may have noticed that this yet another chapter that I have recruited a future child with, and this one doesn't morph Severa's paralogue _too_ much, but some of the later ones become quite unrecognisable when compared to their source material. I hope you don't mind- it's really, very difficult to convert the side stories into a writing medium because they really weren't intended to be written. I think in any fanfic of a video game you're gonna have some interesting side-effects from converting game mechanics into a believable, writable setting. Anyways, you've been warned, my duty is done!  
Review reply time!**

 **Guest: I'll put you out of your misery now- the hint is in chapter 11. Just so you're not sifting through all the future chapters looking for something that isn't there. I'm sure you'll get it, haha. I think I'm fresh out of Lucina jealous moments, but there's plenty of Lucina angst coming up, if that makes you feel any better (it probably won't.) And I couldn't write a fanfiction with Lucina in it and not include some super indulgent family fluff, could I? What would be the purpose of a fanfic without sweet moments like that?**

 **ANYWAYS! (I hope including the chapter titles provides sufficient mystery for the next chapter release)**

 **Next chapter: Royals have two left feet**


	8. Royals have two left feet

**A/N: Voila! Chapter 8! I have a little anouncement but I'll leave it to the end!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Royals have two left feet (or no feet at all?)**

The chief tactician's study was always a mess. Littered with maps, discarded books on warfare and heavy tones, ink pots left out in the open and quills lying on various surfaces with the nibs darkened with dried ink. It smelled like Robin herself- like the sweet scent of old paper and the sharp scent of ink, with the faintest hint of her favourite kind of tea, something floral but sharp and dry rather than sweet. Inigo stood beside his mother, who fidgeted nervously as Robin leaned forward with her elbows resting on her desk and her fingers knotted together. Dark eyes peered at both her guests over the join of her knuckles.

"This isn't an easy task I'm giving you." She informed them gravely, a slight furrow in her brow. Her hair was a chaotic mess- she and her daughter shared a distaste for combs and tidy appearances, apparently.

"I… I think we can handle it." His mother admitted timidly, combing her fingers through her hair, tossed over one shoulder. She looked anxious to return home, probably to her newborn son's side. Inigo didn't blame her for her worry- all his memories of time spent with his father had usually ended catastrophically, usually with one of them covered in blood, thankfully never his own.

Robin smiled and straightened, standing from her seat and walking around her desk to lean against it.

"You grew up in Ferox, didn't you, Olivia?" Robin inquired. Olivia nodded her confirmation. "Then this will be your first Ylissean festival! I witnessed it after I first married Chrom. The second time I had just had Lucy, so I couldn't attend any of the festivities."

"I like studying other kinds of dance, though, so I'm sure I can teach Lucina and Morgan the Ylissean waltz." Olivia informed her meekly. Robin chuckled.

"That's easier said than done… let's just say that my children inherited their father's grace." She said. Inigo bit back a slight snicker himself- despite her grace in battle, Lucina bore none of that grace off the battlefield, and her brother was uncoordinated both on and off the battlefield. "I don't know _how_ they're going to open the dance floor at the ball."

"What would have been their roles if they were the official prince and princess of the Ylisse?" Inigo inquired curiously. He vaguely remembered the famous Ylissean week-long festival to pay homage to the first exalt's defeat of Grima from when he had been a boy and his parents had travelled to pay homage to the Exalt. It was an important enough festival that even on the verge of a war with Plegia, Ylisseans would still maintain the festivities at the end of every Spring. The halidom had been alive with street performers and food stalls and the like. It had left and incredible impression on him. He knew Lucina had always been busy with some duty that was the princess's job in such an important festival, and he could vaguely remember her at the forefront of a parade.

"Traditionally, at least according to Chrom, any princes and princesses of the land would host the opening ceremony, and put on a special performance, in tribute to Naga and the seal placed on Grima, but since Lucy isn't old enough and Lucina and Morgan have such a _unique_ situation, that duty is remaining with Chrom instead." Robin said. "I don't really understand it myself, but Chrom is insisting that Morgan and Lucina have _some_ kind of important role to make up for losing out to Lissa, and the first dance at the ball on the final night was the best I could come up with."

"We'll do our best!" Olivia exclaimed with bright determination. "We'll have them worthy of the position by the time the ball rolls around, I'm sure of it."

Inigo grimaced.

"Perhaps that's a bit ambitious, mother." He said. Robin laughed.

"I'll leave it to you, regardless- make sure to tell them that they're learning on my orders." Robin said. "I give you free reign of the lesson times. Now shoo." She said, waving her hands to dismiss them from the study. "I have to plan the next shepherd mission. I may have found another child from the future."

Both he and his mother bowed respectfully before exiting the study. Olivia paused as the door closed behind them.

"Inigo." She said, her voice gentle and soft as ever. He stopped as well, turning slightly to face her.

"Yes, mother?" He asked inquisitively. She tilted her head to the side, her gaze curious.

"I…" She hesitated. "You… you seem different."

He blinked a few times.

"In what way?" He responded. Olivia's lips pursed into a thin line and she twirled pale pink strands of hairs between her fingers anxiously before gathering the courage to put her thoughts into words.

"More serious? I've been with you all morning and I've not seen you mention a single girl, nor have you stopped to invite any of the palace staff to tea. Is everything alright?" She asked. Inigo smiled thinly, though he was sure it came out as more of a grimace. The bruise on his cheek was almost completely faded, and the more serious damage done had been dealt with by Lissa. He could now smile with comfort yet the urge to smile in recent days had become increasingly more elusive.

"It's fine." He said, brushing off his mother's concern as delicately as he could without offending her.

He felt bad for lying, but he saw no alternative short of admitting the very convoluted dilemma he had placed himself in.

She watched him for a moment longer, her lips still pressed into a straight line, though it melted into a hesitant smile.

"If you say so, Inigo." She conceded at long last. "But you know, you can always talk to me, if you're having trouble. I am your mother, no matter the timeline you come from."

Inigo was unable to respond to her statement, because the next moment saw a tear stricken Brady squeezing between them and then tearing off down the corridor.

Inigo almost groaned, and counted to three in his head, before Lucina appeared around the corner, out of breath and looking furious.

"Get back here, Brady!" She shouted, ready to set off after him in hot pursuit. Inigo sighed, shaking his head just the slightest bit, before reaching out and pulling her from her run. She stumbled back a bit, surprised at the unexpected grip on her upper forearm. She whipped around, perhaps ready to shout at whoever stood between her and her objective, though when she registered Inigo's presence, any protests appeared to die in her throat- she pulled an expression rather like she had swallowed her own tongue.

"Well, here's one of them, mother." Inigo said, unable to keep the amused smile from his face as he hooked his free arm around her other arm, locking her arms behind her. "It may be easier to gather our students than we originally thought."

Olivia's eyes went wide, clearly unsettled by the unusual display before her. He couldn't really fault her confusion- Olivia had retired early from service in Valm due to her pregnancy, and hadn't visited the castle much as she had been busy caring for her newborn son, so she was naturally out of the loop and unaware of the latest shenanigans doled out by the younger generation of shepherds. Lucina was the main instigator, of course, what with her unpleasant training tactics. But his mother was probably unaware of any of this. He chuckled lightly while Lucina struggled and protested.

"Let me go, Inigo, I have to talk to Brady!" She exclaimed. But she seemed rather unwilling to use violence on him lately, which only worked to his advantage when it came to instances such at these when he felt the need to restrain her. Instead, she struggled, trying to free her arms, but they remained locked in place behind her by his own arms.

"Maybe later, Buttercup." He conceded. "Right now, my lovely mother and I have been assigned a rather important mission that involves you and your brother."

As if on cue, her brother appeared around the corner.

"Brady, I'll save you!" He shouted, his arm stretched out before him, as he raced towards Lucina. "Take this Lucina!"

Too late, Inigo registered what Morgan brandished before him- no doubt in a noble attempt to save his friend from his sister, he bore the perfect deterrent to halt Lucina in her tracks. A _beetle_.

Unfortunately, Lucina was also terrified enough of beetles that it lent her the strength needed to break free of Inigo's grasp. With a terrified screech, she tore off down the corridor in the same direction Brady had gone before, with Morgan in hot pursuit. Inigo had been thrown back against the wall of the corridor.

"Inigo!" His mother exclaimed in horror. He chuckled lightly, slightly winded, before straightening and combing his fingers through his hair.

"Mother." He called. "I think we're going to have our work cut out for us."

* * *

Severa's laugh was loud and raucous- she threw her head backwards with the force of them, conveying her intense amusement with the situation. Inigo wished he had the luxury to be amused, like her, but instead he only felt frustration at the fruitlessness of his efforts. Both he and his mother combined, despite their skill in dancing, apparently did not have the skill to teach these two royals to dance.

"Aren't you supposed to be the prince and princess of Ylisse? How can you be so ungraceful?" She questioned, seated on the bench beside Cynthia, who was trying to stifle her own giggles.

How indeed? Especially considering Lucina's usual level of coordination. How could she remember complex sword movements but not be able to handle the simple three steps of the dance without crushing her siblings toes?

He had to admit, the first few times it had been endearing, what with that awfully adorable flush adorning her cheeks and the intense look of concentration on her face. But as adorable as she was, there was only so many times they could go over the _same_ movements before he started to feel incredibly irritated, smitten or not.

"Severa, please." His mother scolded meekly. "You aren't helping matters."

"Hang in there guys!" Cynthia encouraged, though the effect was slightly shot as she said the words between giggles.

"How about we go over it _one more time_ , but slower?" Inigo suggested, walking to stand beside the two and folding his arms. Lucina was slightly taller than her brother- she rested one hand on his shoulder, and the other held his hand. Morgan sniggered, and Lucina bristled like a threatened kitten.

"Don't patronise me." She responded haughtily. "Besides, it's not _me_ , it's _Morgan_ , he's messing up on purpose!"

"Am _not_." Morgan said, though his grin suggested otherwise. "What motive could I _possibly_ have to let you constantly attempt to break my toes? My feet are probably purple by now!"

"'sides," Brady chipped in, having dried any tears from earlier in the day and ready to exact verbal revenge on Lucina, apparently. "It ain't patronisin' yeh if yer really bad."

Lucina rather childishly stuck her tongue out at Brady, before dropping her arms from Morgan's shoulders, and groaning.

"This is ridiculous." She complained.

"How did we gather such an audience anyway?" Morgan questioned. He glanced at his friends. "Surely we're not _that_ amusing."

Severa snorted.

"Trust me, my prince, _you are_." Both she and Cynthia began to laugh together. Inigo wasn't sure he trusted the odd alliance that had sprung up the two ever since Severa had rejoined the shepherds. Especially because it probably meant Cynthia had gained another ally in her ridiculous plan to have him seduce Lucina.

"How about we try something different." Olivia cut in. She had sat down on the bench beside Severa and Cynthia, and now stood up and walked over to them. "I don't think the prince is capable of leading until he's actually learned the steps, and the princess can't see her own feet in that skirt, so we might need someone who knows the dance better than the prince currently does."

Inigo felt his heart beat just a little faster as he clued in to what his mother was suggesting, both from a hopeful excitement and nervous dread.

"Inigo, how about you teach Lucina, and I'll handle Morgan?" Olivia suggested. Both siblings eagerly dropped their hands and turned to Inigo. Lucina folded her arms across her chest and glared pointedly at him.

"Are you sure you can handle us?" She questioned, though he didn't miss the eager glint to her eyes. Perhaps she liked dancing more than he initially realised. The thought warmed his chest.

He grinned and nodded.

"I'm sure Morgan's feet could use a break." He said.

"Stop being gross!" Called Severa, with her hands cupped around her mouth. Inigo shot her the best glare he could without Lucina noticing.

"My feet could use a break." Morgan said, glancing at Inigo with a critical eye. Since having finally called off the plan, Morgan had become far more bearable- he hadn't brought up Lucina once, while talking to Inigo, which Inigo was incredibly thankful for. He couldn't handle any more questioning regarding a certain young princess- Cynthia and Owain's constant harassment was more than enough to throw his heart into turmoil.

Olivia led Morgan away, while Lucina stayed beside Inigo. He glanced at her awkwardly for a moment, rubbing his thumb across his fingertips, before finally raising his right hand to lightly rest against her shoulder blade. He felt her shoulder shift beneath his fingertips and she raised her left and placed her palm flat against the join of his neck and shoulder. He drew her closer then, clasping her other hand in his and raising it to eye level. She dropped her gaze to carefully watch her feet. For the moment, he allowed it, but he knew at some point she would have to raise her eyes.

Brady raised his violin once more, and began to draw out the smooth notes of the waltz Robin had selected to open the ball. Inigo applied the slightest pressure to her shoulder blade, drawing her close. He told himself that it was for the sake of the waltz, and resolved not to move his hands despite how much they wanted to drift to rest against the small of her back.

"I'm sorry if I tread on your feet." Lucina said. Inigo laughed.

"You'll be fine." He reassured her. "Can you remember the steps? Right foot backwards, there we go- make sure to point your foot backwards." He slid his foot forward as she slide hers back, pressing his heel into the ground. Slowly, he rolled his weight across the sole of his foot to stand on his toes as he stepped to the side- Lucina mirrored his movements jerkily, unable to hold any rhythm for a moment. He stepped forwards once more, sinking his weight down to the heel of his foot.

"Relax." He murmured, between instructions. "The most important part of this waltz is not to lose the rhythm."

Lucina shifted, and her hair tickled his chin. He was painfully aware of their proximity, and yet she somehow wasn't close enough- he longed to draw her nearer. What would it be like, to melt into the rhythm of the waltz, for Lucina to rest her cheek against his chest?

Lucina glanced up, a furtive look through her lashes, and Inigo swallowed, trying to will his heartbeat back down to reasonable levels. He began to count the rhythm as she grew more comfortable with the steps, her movements become smoother, though he still had to occasionally rotate his foot to avoid her crushing his toes. He flattened his palm against her back as they began to move more in time with the gentle swells of Brady's violin.

"You're starting to get the hang of it." He muttered, his voice low.

"It's getting easier." She agreed, slightly out of breath.

"Let's try something a little more complex, then." Inigo told her with cheeky grin. "Let's show up your brother, shall we?"

A mischievous twinkle shone in her eyes that did nothing to settle his errant heartbeat as she nodded her assent.

"I'm going to raise this arm, and I want you to spin under it." He instructed her, dropping the hand pressed gently to her shoulder blade and folding it behind him as he raised his left arm, and pulling just slightly to guide her into a spin. He dropped his arm a fraction as she faced him once more, and tucked his arm under hers once more, stepping forward back into the gentle turn of the waltz.

"I thought this was a Ylissean waltz." Lucina commented, taking her eyes off their feet as he continued to guide her around the room. "Your mother taught you Feroxian dances, didn't she?"

He nodded, guiding her through another twirl, this time outwards. She spun back into his arms.

"She always loved the Ylissean waltz though, so she taught me when I was little- we used to waltz around the house and perform for my father." He laughed lightly at the memory. "He wasn't very into it, but he would watch anyway."

"That's strangely… adorable." Lucina said, with a gentle smile, and he felt like he had just won a war. He grinned back and nodded.

"Are you ready to learn the next section?" He asked. She nodded. They were now completely ignoring Brady's violin, as he spun her around, still holding one hand outwards, and placing the hand that had rested against her shoulder blade flat against her stomach. She stood so that her back pressed lightly against his chest. "It's the same steps." He said, against her ear, as she fell back into the original steps, though she struggled a little, still missing the beats just slightly though he counted them out for her.

"Get a room!" Severa called, and though he ignored her, he didn't miss the flush that coloured the tips of Lucina's ears and spread across her neck.

He tugged her arm once more, and Lucina took the cue, spinning outwards. He grasped her free hand, so that they stood shoulder to shoulder, with their arms knotted around them, and once more began to step forwards and backwards. Lucina recovered back to the rhythm more quickly this time.

He got a little overambitious, however, for he tugged her arm so that she could spin back to face him once more, and she was a little unprepared- she stumbled on the floor length skirt she had been forced to don in an imitation of the dress she would have to wear on the night of the ball.

Ever the dancer however, Inigo reached forward and spun on his toes, catching her weight in the curve of her waist and using the momentum of her fall to lightly dip her backwards. She squeaked and threw her arms around his neck. For a moment, it was difficult to pull back and return to teaching her the steps- her weight was familiar and welcome in his arms, and he liked the feel of her arms around his neck, gripping to him with an intense trust that warmed him to the core.

"And you were doing so well." He complained, tugging her back up to a full standing position. She adjusted her skirts so they fell around her more comfortably, before reaching for his hand once more.

Brady started the song up again from the beginning, smiling warmly to himself as he gently swayed to the tune he played. As they began to waltz once more, much smoother this time, Inigo felt he could afford some conversation. Lucina's brow was no longer furrowed adorably with concentration, and she seemed more relaxed and comfortable.

"So why does a princess not know her halidom's national dance?" Inigo inquired, as Lucina spun outwards. Her hair whirled around her in a fountain of midnight blue, and her skirt wrapped around her legs.

Lucina stumbled a bit and tried to right herself before she answered.

"Well, Grima attacked before my debut ball," Lucina admitted. "So Uncle Frederick and Aunt Lissa were preoccupied with teaching me to handle a war, rather than a waltz."

He nodded, feeling a little pang of sadness at the thought. Rather than learning how to dress according to latest trend, or practicing the most recent dance, like the other ladies of the court, Lucina had been trained in warfare- her father had taught her swordfighting from a young age and her mother had imparted her tactical knowledge. And when her parents had been lost in the ever present warfare, she had been trained to lead the Shepherds. He remembered when she took up the mantle. He had been younger than her at the time- she had seemed brave and impressive, despite her small stature, and had he been a tad more mature, perhaps he would have picked up on the fears and insecurities she carried from taking on such a heavy burden at such a young age. Such was the burden of the future exalt.

Their conversation was cut short by a cry of pain from his mother and a sheepish apology from Morgan. Moments later, Olivia called for a break through gritted teeth, limping to sit on the bench and examine her foot.

"I've been meaning to mention," Inigo said, cupping water in his hands from the basin in the corner of the room and drinking from it. "You seem fairly well rested today- how have your nightmares been going?"

Lucina's posture went stiff, and she did not face him when she responded.

"I still have them." She admitted. "And yours?"

He was surprised.

"Mine?" He inquired. She looked away.

"You said you get them too." She elaborated. "And forgive me for mentioning, but there are rather obvious dark circles under your eyes."

He pressed his fingers underneath his eyes. He hadn't realised he'd had dark circles, but Lucina had caught him out.

"They're fine." He admitted, shortly. She straightened and glance at him, smiling fondly.

"Well," She started, "A very good friend of mine told me that the best cure for them is a smile."

And then she shot him that dazzling, warm smile that never failed to send his heart into his throat. The very same smile that had bewitched him when they had spent the day together in the town square, though he hadn't admitted it to himself until recently, and the smile that reminded him very forcefully exactly what he felt for this girl. Something he wanted to run from, and yet could not turn away from.

"How about we start again?" Olivia called, having recovered enough. "Morgan, how about you pick your actual partner for the day? I feel like you know that dance well enough to dance with her, instead."

Inigo grimaced, recognising his mother's gentle avoidance of dancing with the young prince again. He would have done the same, had he been in her position.

A devious smile crossed Morgan's face. Swaggering up to bench, Morgan stretched his arm out the their friends seated their and bowed deeply.

"Now which of you _lovely_ ladies would like to accompany me to the ball?" Morgan asked grandly in a deep voice that was clearly a poor impression of Inigo's own. Severa and Cynthia exchanged amused looks before both pretended to swoon, falling into one another. Cynthia pressed the back of her hand to her forehead while Severa fanned herself.

"That's quite unecess-" Inigo began, only to be interrupted by Cynthia, who scrambled to her feet and ran towards Morgan, throwing her arms around him.

"Allow me to accompany you, your highness!" She exclaimed, before pulling away. Both exchanged looks, before breaking out in raucous cackles, sliding to the ground. Severa wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, and he even heard the slightest giggle from Lucina. He whipped around to glare at her, which only made her giggle burst into actual, genuine laughter. He cursed his own luck- he couldn't maintain a glare while she was laughing so genuinely.

"So, Inigo," She said, when she had recovered enough to speak, though there was still a smile keeping her tone light, "Would you be so kind as to be my partner for the ball?" She imitated Morgan's bow, sweeping her arm outwards. Severa and Cynthia broke out in a fresh round of giggles, and Morgan folded his arms and nodded approvingly. Lucina straightened, and flushed a deep red. "Unless you have a prior engagement?"

The flush convinced Inigo that she wasn't just joking around like the others- regardless, though Lucina may laugh at her brother's antics, she rarely jested herself. The offer was genuine, however jokingly delivered, and the thought made him feel like his skin was boiling and that his heart would puncture his ribcage.

He regained his composure quickly, however, and smiled as charmingly as he could manage.

"Of course I'll accompany you, princess." He said, bowing himself. Olivia had been watching with her hands clasped together, a fond smile on her face, before clapping her hands together.

"Well, with that out of the way, shall we continue?" She suggested with a bright smile.

"It'll have to wait." The Queen's voice sounded from the entrance to the training room- behind her followed Lissa and her husband.

"I have a new mission for the Shepherds."

* * *

 **A/N: So! Now that we have reached this point, and I've posted a nice, decent chunk of chapters, I have officially decided that I'm going to update weekly, instead of bi-weekly, from this point on. I'll update on Saturdays in my time (Which may be Friday for some of you?). The reason for this is because I have a very, very busy schedule and I don't have much time for writing, so I'm hoping by drawing out the pre-written content, I'll have enough time to churn out the last few chapters so there's ridiculously long and uneccessary breaks between updates. Everyone hates a hiatus, right? So, from now on, this story shall be updated weekly!**

 **The other thing I wanted to mention is that the dance in this chapter (and it'll come up again later) is based off the dance the Valse de L'amour from the live-action version of Cinderella. If you want you can play the song in the background while you read that scene to create some atmosphere.**

 **Review reply time!**

 **Guest: Ahhh, thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I was a bit self-conscious about the almost-kiss scene. I just had no idea how to go about writing it! I knew what I wanted to get across, but whether I did is probably a completely different story ahaha! I was also really worried the paralogue would just come across as ultra stupid so I'm glad it didn't! But thank you for such an encouraging review!**

 **John101: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Severa does have ultra bad timing, doesn't she?**

 **rhadamir: What a huge complement, thank you! I'm quite fond of Cynthia so I'm glad I'm getting her right (hopefully that continues to stay true!) I hadn't considered writing another story in this universe... Nor had I considered Owain and Severa as a pairing! Maybe I'll think about it- I didn't actually marry Owain in my playthrough cause I couldn't figure out who to pair him with. Maybe Severa could work... Thanks for the idea though! I am quite fond of this universe...**

 **Anyways!**

 **Next chapter: How bout nah**


	9. How bout nah

**A/N: This chapter is long, and probably a little unecessary but I put too much time and effort into it to drop it from the story. And even if there isn't much plot advancement, I feel like chapters like these are a good chance to get down and see what really makes a character tick. Plus it's always fun to make Lucina flustered.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: How bout nah (it's supposed to be a pun)**

Logically, Lucina understood her mother's decision to place Lucina in the team that she did- two strong fighters to take down any Risen, and a healer. She hadn't placed any mages in Lucina's group, but there were limited ranged attackers, and other areas of the mansion were vulnerable to attackers from above, like the main courtyard, framed on all sides by a balcony on the second floor, or certain areas where the second floor looked down onto the first floor- the west wing had both floors separate enough from each other that any archer of mage Risen would have to attack from an area that could be covered on foot. Not to mention that she and Inigo had proven themselves a formidable team, time and time again.

Emotionally though, she was a bit of a mess. Because of all the available swordfighters and axebearers and lance wielders and whatever else in the Shepherds, her mother had put her in a team with none other than Inigo. What luck! As fortunate as it was unfortunate. How could she focus, how could she fight, yet how much she wanted to be by his side! Really, what she had assumed was maybe a slight crush, or perhaps just a superficial attraction (or at least she had hoped it was one of the two) had quickly spiralled out of control into something much, much worse. Hadn't she almost confessed these absurd feelings, when they had recruited Severa? She was grateful for the interruption- she may have said something stupid otherwise. And Inigo's position as her dance teacher seemed to only exacerbate the problem. There was no brushing off the butterflies or the joy she felt around him, or the intense desire to be by his side, and the emptiness she felt at his absence. She was ruined! Curse her weak heart! How could she have fallen for a pretty boy philanderer? She had failed her shepherds and herself. Things had been so much easier when she had just ignored her feelings and avoided him as much as possible. Now she hadn't even the luxury of denial.

A loose floorboard snapped beneath her feet, and Lucina yelped as her foot punched through the flooring. Inigo spun quickly and caught her by her elbows, pulling her weight up before her balance was totally compromised. She quickly regained her composure and used her other foot to free her leg, stepping towards the wall. Inigo released her from his grip.

"Is now the time to be daydreaming?" He asked her, releasing her elbows. She shook her head, ashamed.

"Forgive me- it won't happen again." She said quickly, ducking her head to avoid him noticing her flush. Her arms tingled a little from where he had gripped her and she could not blame her quickened heart rate solely on the shock of her sudden fall. Brady clapped a hand down on her shoulder.

"Lighten up, Luce," He said. "Happens to all of us- care to share what has yeh thinkin' so hard?"

She hoped fervently that neither of them were astute enough to catch the slight widening of her eyes before she had her expression under control and cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"I was thinking about why mother thought one of the time travellers is in this manor." She lied. She glanced around. She could see why it was called the Manor of Lost Souls- it wasn't hard to believe that the place was haunted. Cobwebs clung to the corners of the walls, and the corridors were poorly lit- Brady held a small fire aloft in his hands, an easy spell used by those with even the smallest amount of magic ability. It cast flickering shadows across the walls that had her jumpy and on edge from the constant movement in her peripherals. There had been reports of Risen in the area, but she couldn't see why this place had stood out to her mother.

"Beats me." Brady admitted. Inigo tentatively rested his weight on a particularly rotted looking stair, before stepping over it when he decided it couldn't hold his weight, and holding a hand up to help Brady cross the stair. He then offered a hand to Lucina.

"I'd imagine it was the lack of any unease in that town we passed by." Inigo said grimly, wrapping his hand around Lucina's forearm when she reached for him and tugging her up the stair. She stumbled a little and he grasped her as she fell into him. "Have you ever known Risen to leave a town of untrained, unarmed civillians untouched, unless they can't get to the town?"

"I see your point." Lucina muttered. Her words were followed by a high pitched scream and her blood ran cold. It was shrill and sharp and cut through the musty air.

"Did you hear that?" Inigo asked, his grip subtly tightening on Lucina. Brady nodded.

"We better move quickly." Lucina said quietly. The other two nodded, and began to ascend the steps more rapidly.

At the top of the stairs, Brady jerked and fell forward, planting his hands on the ground. His face contorted oddly, and he seemed to pale rapidly. Lucina crouched beside him.

"Are you alright, Brady?" She asked.

"Something-" He croaked, before clearing his throat. "Something grabbed my leg."

"Inigo!" She called. Inigo crouched beside the stair, peering into the dark space between steps.

"There's nothing here, Brady." He said at last, straightening, and Lucina aided the healer in standing up. His legs buckled slightly, and Lucina had to catch him.

"I'm tellin' you." He said- the spell had been extinguished, and he ignited the little flame once more, holding it to the stair and peering into the gap himself. Only dust and cobwebs stared back when Lucina joined him to peer. The light began to waver- Brady's hand were shaking. "There was something there."

"Then we should move even quicker." Lucina said, straightened and brushing the dust that had clung to her knees as she crouched.

As they moved down the second corridor, Lucina found herself shivering. It was strange- as jumpy as she was, she wasn't frightened enough to shake, and she was warmly clothed. She rubbed at her shoulders as they proceeded.

"Are you afraid now too?" Inigo asked, his grin deepened by the shadows that danced across his face. She squared her shoulders, dropping her arms.

"Hardly." She scoffed. Her statement was punctuated by a violent start as something dark flickered across the corner of her vision. Her heart jumped into her throat, as Inigo laughed.

"You look quite scared." He chuckled. "No worries, princess- if you're scared, I'll hold you." He finished his statement with a bow.

"Please-" She started, folding her arms across her chest and throwing her weight onto one foot, ready to rebuke Inigo in some way. "Like I would be-"

She didn't get to finish her next words, because the wall beside her crumbled- dust puffed outwards and filled her lungs. She felt as if the air had been snatched from the room, and coughed violently, trying to inhale clean air but failing. The next moment something collided with her, and her ears just barely caught the familiar unearthly groan of a Risen as her back collided with the opposite wall. Rotted fingers closed around her throat and squeezed while she heard the familiar slide of metal being removed from a sheath. She clawed at the fingers, unable to see as she tried to gasp for breath.

The sickening sound of sword puncturing flesh reached her ears- the fingers loosened enough that she could look down to see a thin, silver sword, centimetres from her stomach, slicked with black gore, and she traced the source back to the centre of the Risen's abdomen. For a second, it extended its head towards her so that she could see the glowing red eyes and the rotted skin sliding off the gaunt face before it dissolved into a noxious purple steam.

She crumpled down the wall, gasping for breath, staring up at Inigo who still held his sword straight ahead where he had stabbed it through the Risen. She caught the gleam of a sword behind him and pointed, and he spun around in a smooth arc, swinging his sword outwards. That Risen dissolved as well, the air thick with the noxious smoke that accompanied the demise of a Risen and the stone dust from the collapsed wall.

He quickly dropped to his knees, in front of Lucina, discarding his sword to the side so that he could sweep her hair away from her face. He grabbed both cheeks and forced her head around at odd angles, examining for an injury that probably wasn't there. When he had convinced himself that she wasn't severely injured, he placed his fingers against where her cape bunched around her throat. Mouth dry, not completely due to the adrenaline, she lifted her head, and he pulled down the material. Brady appeared beside him, holding out the flame reignited at his fingertips to examine the no doubt mottled skin of her neck. She knew that dark bruises would have already collected, vaguely in the shape of finger marks and probably slightly smeared with the grime that clung to the Risen's fingers.

"Sorry, Luce, I don't think I'm gonna waste a mend on this." Brady decided at last, pulling away. Her skin felt ice cold in the absence of the little flame. Inigo hovered beside her, smoothing her hair back once more, making her flush with the unexpected affection in the gesture before he straightened, offering a hand to pull her to her feet.

"I'll have to live, I suppose." She said, her voice scratchy. "Are there any others?"

Inigo stepped over the rubble that had piled up beside the section of wall that had collapsed, glancing up and down the newly exposed corridor. "It's clear." He announced, gesturing for the two to follow. It was strange- there had been no doors and yet the corridor was identical to the one they had come from, which was not was she expected to find when stepping through a hole in the wall.

A rock shifted beneath and she stumbled forward, barely swallowing a yelp, and then before her very eyes, the rocks shifted as if guided by invisible hands until the crumbled wall had been completely rebuilt, the cracks smoothing out until the wall was returned to its original state. Her blood ran cold- the wall had just crumbled for no reason and then _rebuilt_ itself.

"What is this place?" Inigo breathed between his teeth, his voice rough and fear causing it to crack. Lucina had to swallow a few times and step closer to Inigo (for his protection, of course, not because she was afraid) before she was able to speak once more.

"I don't know." She admitted, unable to keep the shake from her voice.

"We should keep going." Brady said, though his usual rough voice had been reduced to a frightened squeak.

Lucina squared her shoulders. She had faced Risen, she had taken down enemies three times her size, she had watched her palace crumble before her- she had stared the figurehead of the apocalypse in the eye and survived. She could handle a little haunted house.

She stepped forward, gathering all her courage from the pit of her stomach, until her steps were sure and strong, Inigo following behind her with his sword in a white-knuckled grip, and Brady holding his staff protectively in one hand and lighting the corridor with the other.

A solid shadow, this time most definitely _not_ the product of a frightened and uneasy mind skittered across the ground and Lucina couldn't hold back a scream this time, all of her gathered courage evaporating as if Brady had plunged the hand that held their fire directly into her chest.

"It's a cockroach!" She screeched, scrambling backwards, Brady matching her steps as both fought to hide behind Inigo. He quickly stamped outward, squashing the offending creature with a boot. Lucina fought off a queasy sensation as Inigo broke out into raucous laughter.

"We're literally in a haunted house filled with Risen and potential ghosts!" He exclaimed. "You nearly died five minutes ago and a _cockroach_ causes you two to lose your nerves?" Lucina loosened her grip on his sleeve, slightly ashamed, and both she and Brady stepped away.

"It simply surprised me." She muttered, squaring her shoulders.

Further down the corridor, another wall crumpled- this time Lucina unsheathed Falchion as soon as the dust billowed up around the crumpled stone work, stepping through the hole into yet another corridor similar to the last. Something whizzed by her ear- a few hairs hanging over her ears were shaved off and her cheek stung. An arrow was planted in the wall behind her.

She rolled to the side just as another came, launching herself to her feet.

"Get back!" She called to the other two, halfway into the new corridor. Zigzagging across the corridor, she drove her feet into the wall to propel herself forward, raising her sword above her head in a two handed grip as the risen clumsily nocked another arrow. It abandoned that attempt, throwing its bow upwards- her sword sliced through the wood and the bow snapped, the string snapping backwards and whipping both her and the Risen. Without giving it a moment, she pulled her sword free and spun on the balls of her feet swinging outwards.

The Risen dissolved in another thick cloud that had her coughing. When she brought her hand up to cough into it, she could see blood welling on the thin red welts that sliced across her knuckles. Wincing she shook her hand, allowing herself to register the burning pain across her fingers. The strange gasp of a fallen Risen sounded behind her- she turned to find Inigo had dispatched a mage Risen she somehow hadn't noticed with her attention caught on the archer. The side of Inigo's armour was singed and his shield was blackened with ash.

"Everyone alright?" She called, clenching her injured hand in an attempt to halt the bleeding. Her grip was weaker now- she hoped they didn't encounter anymore Risen. She pressed her fingers against the side of her face and found that the arrow had sliced the side of her face and nicked the tip of her ear- blood dripped down her neck and pooled against the collar of her tunic.

"We'll live." Inigo grimaced, while Brady patted at his shoulder to extinguish a small flame that ignited his sleeve- clearly he had been struck by the mage as well, but he appeared to have taken care of the burns already. The residual glow of the gem set in his staff confirmed her theory.

The wall had rebuilt itself, barring their way once more- the only way through was now straight ahead. A single door lay at the end of this particular corridor. At last, windows lined the wall- sunlight filtered in, lighting the corridor in stripes thick with dust. Lucina stepped towards the window, peering out- an overgrown, debilitated garden stretched out and then thinned, melting into the rolling hills. They were facing west- the sun pointed almost directly into the windows, hovering just short of the horizon. The blue of the sky had dulled slightly, like someone had washed in out with a pale yellow, and the few clouds drifting by were caught in pale pinks and yellows. They were in the western wing, but they had entered the building on the eastern side. They had cross the width of the building and possibly its length though it was a little difficult to gain her bearings after all the walls crumbling and rebuilding.

"We don't have much longer until it's time to report back to camp. I can see a balcony a little across from here- it must be through that door. We can get down from there and be back at camp in time for debrief." Lucina informed her two team mates.

"That's good- I was beginning to worry we'd be stuck in this mansion past sunset, and that they'd have to send a search party out in the morning." Inigo said.

"I don't fancy spendin' the night in a building swarmin' with Risen." Brady admitted, as they advanced up the corridor. Lucina hadn't realised how cold it had gotten, but the small patches of sunlight warmed her cooled skin, and it was nice to have a stable source of light after traversing so many windowless corridors. She almost felt like it was night time- it was strange that the sun was still in the sky. "I would heal up your ear, Lucina, but it looks like you've lost a little chunk of it." Brady continued, leaning in to tug her hair back to examine the cut. She pictured a bloody line from her cheek to her ear- she couldn't picture her ear, but Brady's face indicated it wasn't looking very pretty.

"It's fine." She said. "Let's just move on ahead and get back to camp." She then wrapped her uninjured hand on the door handle while Inigo held his shield out in front of him and readied his sword in his other hand. She pressed the uninjured side of her face against the door, and could hear the sounds of shuffling and movement. Holding up three fingers to Inigo, who tensed, she slowly counted down, before swinging the door open.

Inigo barely had time to dive out of the way when an odd blast of energy shot through the door, and flew through the corridor, leaving a burning crater where it collided with the wall across the crater. Dust and grime caked Inigo's clothes and cobwebs hung from his silvery hair.

"Sorry!" A distorted voice sounded, though the tone was incredibly familiar- the next moment a pale pink reptile poked its head through its head, the sunlight catching its scales in a metallic gleam.

"Nah?" Inigo exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and attempting to comb the cobwebs from his hair.

"Nah?" Lucina echoed. "As in…" She glanced at the reptile in question, which she could now see was clearly a manakete of some sore. "Nowi's daughter?"

"The one and only." The dragon gasped. It curled into itself and in a bright flash of light, a young girl dressed in a white dress with a red cloak thrown over her shoulders stood before them. She glanced at the three of them. "It's an honour to finally meet you, princess." She said with a weak smile, bowing deeply to Lucina. Lucina nodded hesitantly. Nowi straightened. She was a bit of a mess- her hairs was in braids but loosely and messily done with strands of hair flying loose, and her cheeks were smudged with dirt- her white dress was stained with patches of blood and torn at the hem, and she was skinny and gaunt.

"Yer mother was right." Brady exclaimed, stepping forward to examine the young girl. Nah leaned away, and stumbled slightly. Inigo was the first to register that she wasn't ok- when her knees buckled, he dove forward, catching her before she crumpled onto the ground. He held her awkwardly and glanced up from where he was half crouched over her, partially in the doorway.

"We better head back to camp." He supplied grimly, while shifting to support Nah's weight better- her head lolled backwards. "She's in poor shape."

* * *

"It's sunset." Lucina argued. "How could her team not be back yet?"

Inigo gently set Nah down on one of the mats laid out in the medic tent, while Lucina continued to argue with Lissa.

"I'm worried too, Lucina," Lissa countered. "But if they aren't back, they aren't back! We were instructed not to send out any search teams until morning. Robin doesn't make orders like those lightly."

"And if they're injured?" Lucina retorted. "We could lose both the queen and the exalt in one go if we leave that team out there to fend for themselves through the night. Weren't you on one of the exploration teams? Shouldn't you have _seen_ that placed was filled with countless Risen?"

"Lucina," Inigo attempted to interject, resting a hand gently on her shoulder, but she knocked his hand off impatiently. Hurt flickered in his eyes and she felt a brief flash of guilt, but the creeping worry she felt for her parents quickly overcome it.

"Surely you know your mother better than that," Lissa said. "It'd take more than a manor of Risen to take her down."

Lucina was silent, clenching her newly healed fists until she could feel the sting of her nails biting into the flesh of her palm. There was an unpleasant weight settled in her chest, her heart pounding anxiously against her ribs. A plan began to unfurl in her mind, and she squeezed her eyes shut, squaring herself against what she was about to do.

"Very well." She said, though her voice sounded strange to her own ears. "We set out in the morning."

She strode passed Lissa, pushing through the tent flap, pausing when she heard Inigo calling after her. When he caught up with her, he gripped her arm- his grip was firm, not quite painful, but definitely uncomfortable.

"You're not going to do anything stupid, are you princess?" He asked. Was she imagining the worry in his voice? She stared straight into her eyes, something she rarely allowed herself to do out of worry he would catch her lingering eyes. There was something there, something she couldn't read that made her throat feel tight and her mouth dry. She tugged at her arm and he released his grip, his hand falling uselessly to his side like a weight.

"Have you ever known me to disobey a direct order from my mother, Inigo?" She asked, a slight curl resting on the corner of her lips. The question seemed to comfort him, and relief shone in his eyes.

"Attagirl." He said fondly. "They'll be fine. They don't lead the Shepherds for nothing."

She opted to stay silent, and turned to leave. Her tent was on the edge of camp.

"Hey," He called softly. She turned to glance at him one last time. "Get some rest."

Then he was gone, and she was left with her heartbeat in her throat. Her palms were slick with sweat. Since coming to the Shepherds, she had never disobeyed an order from her mother. Her mother didn't order people around meaninglessly. Everything was a strategy, carefully laid- each action carefully weighed and considered to arrive at the best outcome. There was only one assumption her mother dared make when forming a strategy- obedience from those she trusted. Lucina was about to violate that.

She didn't need much from her tent- she checked her sword as she waited for the sun to set and for the activity to die down in the camp. She knew they would know she had left when she didn't show up to dinner, so she had a very small window of opportunity to slip away from the camp. When she had deemed it dark enough, she checked the area around her tent before slipping quietly through and ducking around her tent. She squared her shoulders, preparing start the walk back to the manor.

"And _where_ do you think _you're_ going, little lady?" A familiar voice sounded behind her. She flinched, and spun on her toes to find Morgan with his arms folded across his chest, looking incredibly unimpressed. He tapped his foot impatiently.

"Just for a walk." She said quickly. "You know, I was so worried, I just thought I'd try and calm down before I tried to sleep." She needed to lose him before people noticed she hadn't lined up for dinner.

Morgan scoffed.

"Shall I accompany you, then?" He asked. "On your _walk_. Towards the _manor_."

Lucina panicked. She was caught- she'd have to wait until morning and then learn her parents were dead. It was all over.

"We should leave quickly. I told Inigo I'd go check if you were eating and it won't take long for him to realise what we've done when I don't come back."

"What?" She asked, confused. He walked passed her and paused- she realised he held a tome in the satchel at his side and he had a sword sheath clipped to his belt. No one went to dinner armed.

"Mum and Dad won't find themselves, after all." He told her. He began walking once more. She hesitated once more, smiling weakly, watching her little brother walk confidently back towards the manor, before following after him.

The walk was a lot easier with Morgan accompanying her- she now had a source of light and did not have to walk quite as carefully as she would of in just the light of the moon. They both stayed quiet, worried that any Shepherd who actually _had_ gone a walk, or for anyone looking for them that they might be heard and dragged back to camp, which was also why Morgan kept the flame he used as a light source much smaller than he normally would have.

Her parents had opted to explore the Eastern Wing with Libra as their healer, so it was an area Lucina was unfamiliar with, but Morgan had seen at least the first floor of the eastern wing during his exploration with his team, so they could at least make it to the stairway to the second floor without going in blind.

"The walls crumble." She informed her brother. There were no maps of the interior of the manor. Rumours of it being haunted had been sufficient to keep away any curious locals, and even the bravest adventurers had failed in successfully mapping the area. Still, with the knowledge of the multiple corridors hidden in the western wing, it wasn't difficult to infer that the eastern wing, which was a similar size from the outside, may hold similar hidden corridors. "Then they rebuild themselves."

Morgan shuddered.

"That is absolutely terrifying." He said. "You were planning on exploring a haunted manor by yourself?"

She sniffed.

"Some would call it courageous." She told him, feeling along the walls, hoping one would crumble and reveal her parents waiting safely on the other side.

"Others would call it stupidity." He informed her. She didn't respond- instead she pressed her ear to the wall, attempting to listen. "I wasn't going to mention this, Luce," Morgan began as she walked carefully along the wall, sliding her ear across it. She could hear nothing- the walls were too thick. "But you've got a bit of ear missing."

"It happens." She said. "An arrow nicked me."

"It's not ugly, at least." He continued. "It's actually kind of cool. It's pretty stylish as far as battle scars go. And it's very neat, just a tiny little triangle."

"Morgan, shut up." She muttered. It was faint but she had heard it- the sounds of metal clangs and a voice yelling. "We need to break down this wall."

"I can do that." Morgan said, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows and widening his stance. He pulled a tome from his satchel and propped it open in one hand, extending his other hand out ahead of him. "You might wanna steer clear, sis, or I can't guarantee you'll keep what remains of your ear. Or your body."

She took a few steps back and his hand began to glow red. Then he flicked his hand up and pulled it backwards, only to swing it towards the wall. The red glow flung off his hand like he had thrown it and gathered into what was clearly a fireball. It exploded violently against the wall, and smoke filled the wall.

When the smoke had cleared and Morgan and Lucina had recovered from their coughing fits, it revealed a charred crater in the wall, with some parts still burning (Though a light wind spell managed to take care of that). It was difficult to distinguish anything in this particular corridor- the smoke would not settle for some reason.

"Does it smell… strange to you?" Morgan asked, following closely behind her. The corridor was cooler and Lucina quickly began to realise that it was not dust hanging in the air.

"Why is it misty indoors?" She asked him. It _did_ smell strange- the air was strangely sweet, almost noxiously so. It seemed to fill her head and she felt a dull ache in her skull.

Morgan doubled over and began to cough, retching violently. Lucina too began to feel light-headed. The ground seemed to sway beneath her feet and the ache in her head amplified to the point she felt her head would burst. She crumbled to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Lucina." Morgan gasped. "This isn't fog."

The "fog" in question began to pool around her body, darkening to an ominous purple- it was almost luminous and yet thick and ethereal as a shadow would be. She swatted around her, tucking her nose into her arm to avoid inhaling it. It felt like her clothes were soaked in water- the dark cloud sucked the warmth from her body. She too, began to wretch.

"It's a dark tome." Lucina responded in agreement. "Blast-" She broke into a coughing fit. "Blast down the wall, Morgan."

They were both on the ground by this point- Lucina doubted she would have the strength to hold herself up, let alone to fight a Risen mage. Morgan forced himself to his feet, swaying heavily- a trickle of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth, and he wiped at it, holding his arm aloft.

The corridor exploded in dust once more, and Morgan fired a wind spell to blow it free, revealing that the wall had crumbled directly on the Risen mage, and it flailed weakly beneath a block of crumbled wall before dissolving in smoke. Immediately the dark fog dissipated and the air felt cleaner and warmer. Lucina scrambled to her feet- she felt her nose run and wiped at it to find that she too, was bleeding, though from her nose and not her mouth.

"I hate Waste spells." Morgan gasped, leaning his forearm against an undamaged section of wall to support his weight. "They're always worse at night. It's probably why Mother wanted the search parties to wait until morning."

Lucina crumpled against the wall opposite the crater Morgan had created. She could feel blood pooling in the back of her throat.

"And she just happened to know that the Risen would carry dark tomes?" She countered. Morgan shook his head.

"I helped her research this Manor before the mission- mages who travel here find dark magic is amplified. And since night makes that even worse, I think she just didn't want to risk it." He crumpled against the wall as well, sliding down until he sat, rolling his head back to rest against the wall. "Wise choice, really, given the state we're in after one measly Waste spell."

They stayed like that for a short while, both neither in any real state to continue, until Lucina forced herself to her feet, and Morgan did the same- they followed through the collapsed wall.

And were rewarded almost immediately- Robin, Libra and Chrom lay scattered across the corridor, unconscious. Lucina and Morgan's arrival had probably spared them from the finishing attack. Lucina raced to her father's side, propping him up, to find him pale and cold, but still breathing.

"They're safe." She gasped, gently lowering him back. Morgan rummaged around in his satchel, producing an Elixir. He then limped to Libra, lifting him up so that he could pour it passed his lips. Moments later, Libra roused, blinking groggily at the young prince.

His eyes then widened and Libra scrambled to his feet, surveying the damage to the rest of his team.

When Robin and Chrom were healed up, Robin smiled weakly at Lucina, still on the edge of consciousness.

"Thank you." She breathed, softly, and Lucina smiled in relief back.

The journey back was long and tiring, and the weary and injured team barely made it a few steps into camp at the crack of dawn before they were swarmed. Lissa forced her way through the crowd and almost cried at the sight of her brother, safe and sound.

Lucina herself only made it a few steps towards Lissa's tent, as the crowd of concerned shoulder dissipated. She'd had the intention of requesting a heal, or perhaps a concoction, when Inigo found her.

For a moment they both just stood there, staring stupidly at one another. Lucina wasn't sure what to say to him, but there was something in his expression that kept her quiet until she could bear the silence no longer. She opened her mouth to say something- perhaps to ask him what was wrong, or to request a report of camp activity while she had been on her retrieval mission.

She did neither because in the next few moments he rapidly closed the space between them with long, rapid steps. Then suddenly she was engulfed in his arms. He knotted his fingers together and rested them against the curve of her lower back, pinning her arms to her sides.

Any ability to hold a conversation rapidly degenerated. His arms were strong and firmly wrapped around her, and he had pulled her tightly enough against him that her cheek pressed into the join of his shoulder and neck. Hesitantly, she raised her arms, as they were pinned to her side only to her elbows, and rested them awkwardly against the line of his belt. It was a pathetic attempt to return his hug, but she wasn't used to such open and warm affection. She had expected irritation, perhaps some scolding- she had certainly gotten a lecture from her mother on the journey back. She hadn't expected him to react like _this._

"Inigo?" She finally managed. He shifted and buried his face in the crook of her neck, and she flushed, but did not push him away. It was… pleasant. Like she belonged there, in his arms.

"You scared me." He admitted, so quietly she almost missed it. She was glad he couldn't see her face- it was no doubt redder than Cordelia's hair at that moment. "I couldn't stop thinking that something happened to you." His voice cracked slightly and he tightened his arms around her. She frowned, and pulled back, pushing him away as gently as she could, a difficult feat when he was so tightly wrapped around her. She met his gaze, hoping that he didn't notice the blush that stained her cheeks.

"I'm fine though." She said, in an attempt to comfort him.

"Do I get a hug too?" A familiar voice sounded, and Inigo and Lucina flew apart, to find Morgan looking quite unimpressed, and her _father_ of all people standing beside him, looking quite upset.

"I wouldn't mind a hug myself." He said, slowly, though there was something very, very threatening in his usually kind eyes, as he seized up Inigo. Inigo paled and grinned awkwardly.

"Well, if you _insist_ , my Lord."

* * *

 **A/N: Just another reminder that I have a tumblr, url the-protractor, if you want to come chat!**

 **This chapter was quite difficult to write. There's no real explanations about the house in Nah's paralogue, so I was forced to keep it free of explanations too, because I couldn't fit anything in that was relevant to the story I was telling... And this entire chapter was written purely for the scene at the very end because I'm a SUCKER for those reuniting-I-was-so-scared-for-you moments. There wasn't much opportunity to write that in in a story like this so I have to MAKE an opportunity!**

 **This is also a chapter where I just MAKE CRAP UP so that I can have force certain situations I want to happen to happen, so I'll just remind you that if you are looking for a story to stimulate thought and whatnot, you are reading the wrong fic. Try and ignore those kinds of things and just accept them as they are because it's a means to an ends to get certain reactions out of characters. And the fun is in the reactions, rather than the actual events.**

 **No guest reviews this time so I'll see you all next week!**

 **Next chapter: Woo her with a bracelet  
(I wonder what that could mean?)**


	10. Woo her with a bracelet

**A/N: I've been looking forward to posting this chapter since I started planning the fic. I hope it delivers and reflects the effort I put in!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Woo her with a bracelet**

The Peace Festival was an age-old Ylissean tradition. It lasted for a week at the end of Spring when the air was warm and thickly perfumed with fully bloomed flowers, but the freshness of Spring was gone and instead replaced with the muggy heat of Summer. During the day the festival bustled with people shopping for preparations for the night, and during the evening, every single town in Ylisse came alive. Colourful lanterns lined the streets that illuminated the Brand of the Exalt- some carved so the pathways were lit with the iconic symbol and the evening was cool enough for people to explore and enjoy the sights on display. Inigo had attended once with his parents when he was very small and the strongest recollections he held of the festival were of brightly coloured lanterns and a cakes brandishing the Mark of Naga.

Lucina had been the one to tell him the story of the First Exalt. It was a story she had obsessed over when they were children- on the occasions that his parents travelled to Ylisse, either on campaign with the Shepherds, or simply to visit the royal family and stay a few nights at the castle, their play dates had consisted of acting out the story, at Lucina's insistence. She had been older than him then, and much happier- neither of them had lost their parents and Validar had yet to invade. She had played the First Exalt and forced him to play the role of Grima. That usually resulted in him being forced to play dead for long periods of time while Lucina argued with Morgan over who had the honour of slaying the dragon.

After reaching the current time period, it had not taken Lucina long to discover that he had very little knowledge on the subject despite their games as children, and she had quickly dragged him to the castle's library. It had been destroyed in their time, every book reduced to ashes, so Lucina had revelled in its recovery, and she had wasted no time in extensively researching every mention of the First Exalt in the vast archives. It made sense, logically, since those stories held the secret to defeating Grima, but he had little interest in them. Instead, after telling him all she knew on the subject, he had opted to nap while she re-read various passages (She was her mother's daughter, after all). He had awoken at one point to find she had dozed off, and could fondly recall the peaceful expression she had worn as her soft snore lightly fluttered the strands of hair that hung in her face. It had been one of the rare instances she had smiled genuinely, and the memory was more treasured than he had been willing to admit for a very long time.

Market stalls on almost every street in Ylisstol sprung up from seemingly nowhere on the day of the festival. It was customary not to begin any festivities until the parade had finished. The moment the Exalt plunged falchion, a decorative copy, into the stone sculpture in the centre of the plaza in an imitation of the first exalt sealing Grima, the streets erupted with life. In an instant, Ylisstol transformed from people milling around awkwardly, waiting for the day to begin to something livelier and more bustling than the market street on even the busiest of days.

Inigo had had the pleasure of watching the parade alongside Lucina earlier that week, on the day the festival had commenced. She had slipped away from all the preparations occurring in the castle, probably unaccustomed to the more frivolous duties of a royal such as organising festivities, and he had come across her disguised in civilian clothes, attempting to find the best point to observe the parade from. Unfortunately, they had resolved to watch it too late- there was no getting near the plaza, so many people had accumulated in hopes of catching a glimpse of Chrom in the moments that opened the festival.

Nonetheless, they had found an appropriate spot on the side of the road in an area the parade passed through. Everything about Lucina had practically vibrated with excitement and joy as the parade progressed, beginning with her father leading the march and then people in extravagant costumes, and mages creating dazzling light shows.

"I've never watched the parade as a spectator." She had admitted in a breathy, dazzled tone that _really_ didn't help with the whole _feelings_ problem he had with her. Then she turned to him with that dazzling smile that had slowly becoming more and more frequent and he was seized with the strength of his feelings for her. When had they become so powerful, so debilitating? He couldn't remember a time where he had looked at her and not felt incredible warmth in his chest. Perhaps it had been there for longer than he could have ever imagined- since they were children, perhaps, and she was the most dazzling thing his young eyes had ever seen? After they reunited following years apart when they had first travelled to this time, and he had been so incredibly relieved to find her alive and well? When she started avoiding him for no reason, and he had realised how much of a fixture she had become in his life? Or maybe it had only appeared recently when he had been forced to court her? He couldn't trace its origins. He did know, though, when he had realised just how deep those feelings went.

He had realised it after the mission at the Manor of Lost Souls. Those hours waiting for her to return, without knowing what condition she may return in, had been agony. He didn't think he could ever be without her. Not even facing the fury of the Exalt had been enough to deter him from loving her. It had helped that Robin had stepped in before Chrom could resort to any of his more violent tactics.

It was stupid, illogical, ridiculous, and dangerous. He was only setting himself up for heartbreak. Hadn't she spent months avoiding him for no reason? Wasn't that proof enough of her disinterest in him? His feelings were unrequited: Of that, he was sure. And that wasn't even getting started on the stupid plan the others had forced him into- what if she found out? Would she forever write off his feelings as something fabricated so that his friends could slack off a little more? He couldn't bear the thought. No, he was completely and utterly doomed. He had barely _looked_ at any of the pretty woman passing by him (apart from a cursory glance to confirm their beauty, of course), let alone invite them to tea. No, simple the _thought_ of inviting a pretty lady to tea soured quickly when he was faced with reality that it wasn't the one lady he truly wanted to have to tea with.

Still, everything about her made him desperate to shower her with affection. He had to make her aware of his feelings, even if the chances of them being requited were zero to none. Which was how he found himself, on the last day of the Peace Festival before a jewellery store. A bracelet rested against his palm. It was impractical for a fighter like Lucina- delicate and dainty, it would quickly break unless she saved it for the very rare occasion she wasn't up and about with some sort of task. Yet the stone that dangled off the frail silver chain was a deep sapphire blue, with the brand of the Exalt hidden its depths. It reminded him of her eyes, and he couldn't help but picture her face if he were to present it to her. She had mentioned, once, offhandedly, that she did really love jewellery, even if it wasn't particularly practical for someone in her position. It was the though behind buying the jewellery that she enjoyed, apparently. Would she know the thoughts behind this one?

He briefly allowed himself to entertain the notion of her reciprocating her feelings. Of her looking at him with warmth and love in her eyes following his confession, rather than disgust and anger. He would give her the bracelet then, slip it into her palm without ceremony. Would she look surprised? Happy? Would she put it on immediately, or just hold it? Maybe she would even allow him a glimpse of that dazzling smile he so loved. She probably wouldn't know the meaning behind the bracelet- Lucina was not particularly well-versed in Feroxian culture.

"What are you smiling for?" He started at the words, and looked to his side to find his mother standing beside him. She held various bags in her hands, probably gifts for Flavia for when she returned to Regna Ferox. Wordlessly he took a few from her, dropping the bracelet back onto the counter like the metal had burned his palm. Her gaze flickered down to the offending piece of metal, and her eyes widened.

"Is that a bracelet?" She asked, shocked. "Inigo, I know that you enjoy… _feminine company_ , but bracelets are _not_ something you buy for a woman lightly!"

"I know that." He said quickly, defensively. She blinked a few times.

"Then… are you in _love_ , Inigo?" She asked, her voice tinged with wonder and confusion. He flushed a brilliant shade of red- this was _not_ a conversation he wished to have with his mother. Especially this younger, more awkward version of his mother.

"Do you have to say it so loudly, mother?" He complained, chagrined. Her eyes widened almost comically so- if he had thought they had widened when she first lay eyes on the bracelet, they practically flew out of their sockets at this.

"That's… so sweet, Inigo." She said, her face bright red. "And you're buying a bracelet for her? Then does she return your feelings?"

Inigo stiffened, his eyes once more on the silver chain.

"Well, not exactly." He said. Olivia looked confused.

"Did I not explain to you the meaning behind bracelets to you properly?" She asked hesitantly. "They mean eternity in our culture, Inigo. You present them to your one and only love."

"I know that." He responded. "It's a hopeful purchase. In case she _is_ my one and only love."

"Then you're planning to confess tonight? Won't she get jealous when she sees you dancing with Lucina?"

"She is Lucina." He muttered as quietly as he could manage.

"Pardon?" Olivia responded, clueless as ever. Had his mother always been so… _dense_?

"It's Lucina. Lucina's the girl I'm in love with." He said, louder.

Olivia was silent for a long moment, her mouth hanging open.

"Oh." She said, slowly. For a moment, he felt his heart drop- if this was how his mother reacted at the news of his feelings, wouldn't Lucina react far worse than this? He turned away, intending to leave the bracelet behind.

"Inigo, wait!" Olivia called. He didn't pause, and she seemed to have dropped the matter, until moments later she returned to his side, retrieving the bags he was carrying for her. She then lifted his hand and dropped the silver chain into his hand, meeting his gaze steadily, something unusual for his mother to do.

"Go get her, love." She said, with a warm smile on her face. He glanced down at the chain in his hand. The sapphire stone caught the light of the sun and shone sky blue, just like Lucina's eyes, and he felt some resolve deep in his heart tighten. Even if the chances of this working out were slim, he had to tell her how he felt, or he may burst.

"Thank you, mother."

* * *

Inigo was an idiot. The biggest idiot in all the halidom of Ylisse. No, the whole _continent_ of Ylisse. Whose plan was this, anyway?

"You seem nervous." Yarne commented, attempting to fix the collar of his tunic, with no success. It can't have been comfortable wearing a collar over that much fur- the night was sweltering enough, without fur. Inigo swallowed to try and rid himself of the dry sensation in his throat with no success.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, his voice a dry rasp. Yarne shrugged.

"Taguel are very in tune with that sort of thing- you stink." Yarne announced. Inigo's eyes went wide, panic setting in.

"I do?" He asked- he had made sure to wear his best cologne that night. Surely he wasn't sweating _that_ much. It _was_ hot, but they hadn't even reached the dance, yet!

"Yeah, of human cologne. It's nasty stuff." Yarne responded, wrinkling his nose. "Hey, whatever happened with you and Lucina? Did you end up following through with that plan?"

As if he hadn't been nervous enough already, Yarne had to remind him of that _stupid_ plan.

"You're not a particularly comforting presence, Yarne." Inigo admitted between gritted teeth. "Maybe you should go bother Morgan. He probably needs help getting ready- boy can barely dress himself and I think his mother had to pay him not to wear those tactician's robes."

"I like those, though." Yarne complained.

" _Leave_ , Yarne." Inigo snapped. Yarne looked affronted but indulged his clearly agitated friend and left him to his own devices. Inigo paced his quarters, tightly gripping the small silver bracelet in his palm. He could do this- he would court Lucina genuinely and earnestly. He would make his feelings clear tonight, and then she could do what she wanted with him. He opened his palm and gazed at the sapphire hanging off the chain- in the meagre lighting of his room, it was a dark, inky blue. He gazed out the single window and inhaled deeply. It was time- he could do this.

The castle didn't have a ball-room. Instead, the main atrium had been decked out so that it was suitable to hold a ball. An empty space hung in the centre of the room, the floor smooth and polished- that would be where Lucina and Morgan opened the floor with the Ylissean waltz. Musicians hung on the edge, and gentle strains of a sweet tune filtered through the air between the general murmurs of conversation that filled the room. The Exalt and his queen had not yet made their appearance, but several nobles had already entered the room- those who were currently entering had their names trumpeted across the room by the usher at the entrance.

The chandelier lit the large hall in a brilliant warm light, glistening on the marble floor. A long table lined the opposite wall decorated brilliantly in extravagant foods that Inigo was sure he would have drooled over had it not been for the fact that he currently felt like there were stones sitting in his intestines.

Robin had told him that he would be expected to enter the hall with Lucina, when she made her official entrance under a fabricated title to allow her to open the dance floor, but that he was free to scope the room before then. After another scan of the room, he decided that he had delayed long enough. It was time to face the music.

Lucina had opted to prepare for the ball in the Queen's quarters. He rapped on the door and waited, tucking his fingers into his belt and awkwardly shifting his weight on the balls of his feet, staring idly at the ground.

The door opened and light flooded the corridor and the first thing he registered was a deep red skirt, brushing the floor. He looked up and his jaw dropped in surprise. He felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs.

Wine red satin sat against pale skin- the dress hugged Lucina's torso closely, embossed with golden embroidery, and left the tops of Lucina's shoulders bare and the sleeves hugged her slender arms down to her wrists. At her waist the material flared outwards- the full skirts fell loosely to the ground. Her hair was pulled up into a twist that sat against her neck, pinned into place with a sparkling gold hair ornament. A thick golden chain twisted into a complex and intricate pendant inlayed with rubies. The pendant rested against the hollow of her throat. Her eyes were wide as she registered his presence, before a smile slowly spread across her lips.

"Inigo." She said, her eyes warm. "You look nice."

He would have returned the compliment. The bracelet in his pocket suddenly seemed to suddenly weigh a hundred pounds, and his palms felt slick with set. The window of opportunity passed, and he settled for smiling as charmingly as he could when all his brain function seemed to have ceased.

"Shall we go?" He asked, extending his arm. Lucina's gaze flickered down to his offered arm before returning to meet his eyes. He was spellbound by the way the shift of her gaze caused her eyelashes to flutter against her cheekbones.

"Is that you, Inigo?" Her mother called from somewhere in the room. She appeared, looking stunning in a midnight blue dress, as the Queen of Ylisse should. "We're just about ready to go- We're just waiting on Morgan, and then they'll announce your entrance."

"Then wait no longer, Mother!" Morgan announced, appearing beside Inigo seemingly out of nowhere, and dressed surprisingly decently. His hair was slicked back.

"Is that you, Morgan?" Cynthia burst through the door, pushing past Lucina who sidestepped Cynthia's dive. She skidded to a halt before Morgan and performed a quick spin, showcasing the dress she had on, a bright green that would have looked garish on anyone else but looked surprisingly nice on her. "How do I look?"

Morgan shot Cynthia a dual thumbs up, grinning. "Fantastic!" He exclaimed. She cheered, and hooked her arm through his, pointing eagerly forward. "Now let's open that dance floor like no one has ever opened a dance floor before!"

The display was enough to return Inigo to his senses- he was sure he could manage a coherent sentence beside Lucina, though his mind felt like it was filled with angry bees. Still, she shot him a smile, tucking her hand awkwardly into the fold of his elbow, and he felt like he might be ok. He could do this- it was Lucina. Beautiful but grumpy Lucina. The same girl he had known since he was a child. He felt, for a short moment, like his emotions had been grounded in her.

The usher trumpeted their false titles across the room, and a hush fell across the room. Inigo swallowed, uneasy about the many eyes that came to rest on them as they made their entrance. Lucina tightened her grip on his sleeve, and he glanced down at her in surprise.

"We can do this." She said softly, and he found himself smiling down at her.

"Yeah." It was difficult to focus on the speech that Chrom and Robin gave to open the dance floor. He may have caught snippets discussing the festival and welcoming the various aristocrats, and something regarding the peace the Ylisse so highly valued, but he was more focused on breathing evenly and Lucina grasped his hand in hers, leading him out to the centre of the dance floor. She dropped his hand and curtsied to him- he followed suit and bowed deeply. In the corner of his eyes, he could see Morgan and Cynthia also moving towards the centre of the dance floor.

The first strains of music filtered to his ears as if they floated through water. He closed his eyes, gently pressing his hand against Lucina's back. He could feel her shoulder blade shift slightly beneath his touch, as they began to move backwards and forwards slowly. He could feel her body heat through her dress. Slowly, she lifted her gaze from their feet to meet his- earnest blue eyes watched him through a frame of thick, dark lashes. A warm feeling stretched and expanded in his chest and he smiled gently at her as they circled one another. She had trouble keeping up with the beat- he shift his arm beneath hers and lifted her arm, so that it swung outwards to the beat of the music. She slid her hand down his arm and towards his face, as if to cup his cheek- his heart fluttered at the thought. Before her fingers made contact with his cheek, however, she spun outwards. Recalling the steps of the waltz was difficult, but he extended his arm outwards. She held lightly onto his sleeve and they circled the dance once more.

Morgan and Cynthia had seemingly given up- the dance floor belonged solely to him and Lucina. He felt, for a moment, like they were the only two people in the world. Like nothing else existed but the blue of her eyes, a deep cobalt in the light of the hall, seemingly darker than usual when contrasted with the red of her dress. They spun in time to the swells of the harp as the tune climbed upwards. The violins sung in time with the beat of his heart, as they circled the dance floor. Lucina's skirt swept outwards, trailing along the smooth marble as she smiled that gorgeous smile that he felt was solely for him.

He loved her, he loved her, he loved her. Nothing was ever so clear as in that moment, with her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed. He drew her in close, and she spun so they stood side by side- he rested his hand against her hip as they stepped- forward, then to the side, then forwards once more. Outwards, and back in.

"Ready for the grand finale?" He whispered lowly to her as he drew her in close once more. She angled her head slightly so that she could meet his gaze.

"Don't drop me." She said, a challenge in her voice, and he obliged, hooking his hands against the curve of her waist and twirling her in the air. He set her down gently and her breath puffed once, hot against his face before she spun outwards, raising her arm. He grabbed her raised hand as she spun back in, and she turned slightly as he held her hip, drawing her into a low dip as the last note of the song slowly faded. Silence fell for a moment before the watching nobles erupted in applause, but all he could focus on was Lucina, still in a dip, staring up at him with _something_ in her eyes. Something that made him short of breath- that sucked the air from his lungs.

"The song's ended." She said, her voice close to a whisper. He helped her straighten- they stood stock still as another song began to play, and other couples began to make their way on to the dance floor.

"Yeah." He breathed- he couldn't manage much more than that, still dumbstruck. He couldn't quite pinpoint why- he just felt like he had had all rational though knocked from his mind.

"Do you…" She hesitated, her cheeks a lovely flush that suited the red of her dress. "Would you like to get some air?"

He nodded mutely as she wrapped her fingers around his and led him towards the castle courtyard. Air was good. The room seemed to have been drained of it. He remembered the bracelet in his pocket- he felt like it burned the skin it rested against.

Lucina hesitated as the cool night air greeted them. It was still warm, and the air was sweet. Someone had decorated the palace gardens with lights- they hung like stars strewn across the hedges. Flowers bloomed, dark, rich circles of colours lit by the lanterns that hovered near them. Lucina's steps faltered- she had clearly not planned that far ahead. Her grip on his hand loosened, but he wasn't quite ready to let go. Instead, he lightly squeezed her hand and took the lead, suddenly determined to find the perfect spot.

He hadn't accounted for her full skirt though- she stumbled, letting out a surprised yelp. He spun quickly- her weight collapsed into him, and he was forced to take a step back to keep them both balanced. She straightened, meeting his gaze bashfully. He couldn't stop the grin.

"We make it through an entire dance, and now is when you fall, princess?" He asked fondly, with a slight chuckle. She looked bashful, though he caught the smile that she was a second too late to stop.

"I suppose it's because I can't help falling for you." She said, with a slight laugh. It was a joke. She was joking about how she felt. Did she realise what she had just said?

Evidently she did, because as Inigo attempted to comprehend her statement, her mouth dropped, forming a perfect "o", horror dawning in her eyes.

"I… I…" She started, fear in her voice. Then she dropped her head and groaned lowly, unable to meet his gaze.

"I love you." It took him a second to realise that it was him who had said the words- they hung in the air, heavy between them, and something in the atmosphere shifted. He felt like someone had taken a hammer to his chest. He swallowed, throat dry, hoping to find a way to swallow the words once more- the expression on her face was strange- pained, or maybe sorrowful. The silence that hung between them was answer enough.

He was still holding her hands, warm beneath his fingers. He dropped them and his hands felt ice cold in the cool night air. He glanced away, taking steps to retreat.

"I- I'm not expecting an answer." He said, unable to keep the crack from his voice. "I… I just thought I should tell you." He tried to turn around, but found the movement halted by her hand wrapped around his wrist. Her eyes were wide, fearful, and her grip on his arm so tight it almost hurt.

"Wait." She said, panicked. He tried to tug his hand free, but failed. "I have something to say!" She exclaimed. He squeezed his eyes shut, for a moment, before turning slowly to face her.

"It's alright, Lucina, you don't have to-" He started, but she interjected.

"I avoided you!" She exclaimed, her voice high. "For no reason! I just stopped talking to you, and you didn't fight it, or expect an explanation or apology. Yet you love me?"

He nodded sadly, trying to smile, but it felt cracked and strained on his face.

"I do." He told her, though he felt as if the words were jagged sharp against his throat and bitter in his mouth as he said them.

"I avoided you because I love you!" She said, her voice cracking and squeaking high on the 'you'. Then her eyes widened in horror and she clapped her hands over her mouth. He felt a bit like coherent thought had died in his brain. He was reduced to staring at her dumbly, as she slowly peeled her hands away from her mouth, and dropped them to hang uselessly at her sides. "I was scared. That you would notice. So I avoided you. So you wouldn't be able to tell."

Something warm and huge settled in his chest, and something akin to manic laughter burst from his throat. He may have been close to hysterics- he didn't really care. He doubled over, laughter bursting forth until tears began to stream from the corners of his eyes.

"That's why?" He managed to gasp between cackles. She had flushed to an angry shade of red.

"And if it was?" She shot back, defensively. He forced himself to stop laughing, straightening. He slowed his breath, though he couldn't keep the grin off his face as he smiled down at her. Slowly, watching carefully for her reaction, for the slightest hesitation, he reached for her hands and raised them. He shut his eyes and pressed his lips against the back of her hand.

"I would probably laugh some more." He admitted, pressing his forehead into her hands as he lowered himself so that he kneeled before her.

"Then it wasn't." She said quickly. He opened his eyes and smiled up at her feigning disappointment.

"Then I bought you a lovely gift for nothing!" He exclaimed, slightly mockingly. "How foolish of me."

She hesitated, curiosity outweighing her bashfulness.

"A gift?" She asked.

He nodded, reaching into his pocket, and produced a small silk pouch. Inside lay the bracelet he had bought for her. He held it aloft as if he was going to drop it into her hands, but pulled away at the last moment when she reached for it.

"I can't give it to you if you avoided me for no reason, princess!" He teased, and she looked irritated. "I can only assume you avoided me because you detest me- oh, woe is me!"

"Fine!" She exclaimed, snatching the satchel from his hand. "That _is_ why."

"What is why?" He asked, getting to his feet as she upturned the pouch. The bracelet slid into her palm. The sapphire was the same midnight blue as her eyes in the current lighting. Her eyes widened, and she looked up to him, as if searching for confirmation that it was for her. He simply smiled at her, hopefully conveying the warmth that had filled his chest and threatened to make him float away into the sky.

She inhaled deeply, opening her mouth, as if to say something. And closed it again. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, and when she opened them, there was something spell-bounding set in her sapphire eyes, that had him feeling like the air was sucked from his lungs again.

"I… I love you, Inigo." She said, softly. He smiled, something scratching in his throat, overwhelming and powerful, and he blinked rapidly. He would never recover his reputation if he cried in a moment like this. He smiled weakly, dropping his forehead to her, shutting his eyes.

"You're all I think about, Lucina." He said, before pressing his lips to hers. She was gentle and awkward, her hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. He pressed another kiss to her lips but he was smiling too much to properly kiss her. He opened his eyes to find she was staring at him, something not quite a smile, but just as warm as endearing, gracing her lips.

Naturally, they had to be interrupted at that moment.

"Am I interrupting something?" Nah announced suddenly, looking surprised, when they both twirled to find her. "I just wanted to say that the banquet is ready and everyone is preparing to eat."

She left them then, without giving them a chance to say anything. He grinned, another laugh breaking free as he reached down to lace his fingers with her.

"Shall we?" She nodded, with a slight laugh herself.

"We shall."

* * *

 **A/N: Lol. If ever there is a chapter with lots of fluff and happiness and it isn't the final chapter, then the law follows that the next chapter will be really bad.**

 **Guest review time!**

 **Guest: Thanks for reading! Glad you enjoyed it. I find it quite the compliment that you binge read it!**

 **Next chapter: Lucina learns the truth (about what I wonder?)**


	11. Lucina learns the truth

**A/N: This chapter wasn't easy to write, I have to admit. Writing emotions and sadness isn't my strong point. This is also the biggest alteration of a paralogue that you'll come across in this story- I reckon it's almost unrecognisable when compared to Kjelle's actual paralogue. Hopefully that can be overlooked! There's also a fair amount of blood in this chapter so if that bothers you, then I'm ultra sorry!**

 **Anyway, onto the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Lucina learns the truth**

Lucina wasn't one for jewellery. Given her occupation, it simply wasn't practical- it would be ridiculous to attempt to adorn oneself on the battlefield. Beauty was a luxury for people who did not fight in wars. Still, she had been sorely tempted to don the silver bracelet when they had left on their latest deployment. She had dangled it between her fingers, admiring the glint of the light catching on the tiny silver links, and the deep blue of the sapphire that hung from the chain. She had tested its weight on her wrist, felt how it had been light but strangely heavy, cool against her skin. Then she had regained her common sense and unclasped the little ornament. Still, she was reluctant to leave it behind. It was like a tangible reminder of what had happened that night on the ball. A part of her still couldn't believe it wasn't a dream. In the end, she had settled for slipping it into a hidden inner pocket within her tunic. Every now and then she became conscious of it shifting against her skin and she felt her heart flutter as she recalled her memories from the end of the festival.

"You've been smiling strangely like that all day, Lucina, do you really expect me to believe nothing happened at the ball?" Cynthia asked, and Lucina had to bite her lip when she realised that she had, indeed, been smiling.

"I agree, Lucina," Inigo said, a cheeky tone heavy in his voice. "This is quite unusual for you- are you sick?"

She flushed in indignation. She smoothed her fingers across her lips, hoping to rid herself of the persistent smile she had been unable to remove for the entirety of the day.

"I can't simply smile, just for the sake of it?" She responded, yet she couldn't manage the affronted tone she desired- a manic grin stretched her mouth too much. She sighed, before finally allowing herself to embrace the smile she couldn't keep away. Cynthia looked confused.

"You two are gross." Cynthia said, slowly, and Lucina was astounded that a _giggle_ broke from her mouth at Cynthia's words. She clapped her hand across her mouth, horrified, but the look on both Inigo and Cynthia's faces was so shocked that she broke into a fresh peal of laughter, actually doubling over with the force of it.

"I came over here to see if you were sick, because you didn't wake me up for a morning run this morning," Cynthia said, her tone distrustful. "And clearly my hunch was right. I'm leaving before whatever disease you've caught causes me to become manic as well."

"I simply thought you deserved a day off." Lucina explained. Cynthia's eyes widened, and she shot a glance at Inigo, and then back to Lucina, shaking her head slowly. She muttered something under her breath, that Lucina didn't quite catch, but it did seem to make the smile slide off Inigo's face.

"What?" Lucina asked. Cynthia grinned and waved her hand dismissively.

"I was just saying I think I know what happened, now." She said, something devious in her grin. "I'll leave you two to it."

Inigo watched her go, his expression slightly stiff. Lucina edged closer. His palms were relaxed by his side, gloved in preparation for their mission, but it would be easy to slide her hand into his. Her fingers brushed his wrist, and he looked down in surprise, before the odd expression on his face melted into a gentle smile, something fond and warm in his eyes that made her feel like she was dissolving into the air around her. He twisted his hand to lace his fingers with hers and lifted her hand to his face, brushing his lips gently across her knuckles. She flushed at the tender gesture, but smiled none the less when his eyes met hers once more.

"Is this good mood because of me?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"Don't think so highly of yourself!" She responded, but her smile and the warmth that no doubt lingered in her eyes no doubt told a different story. He chuckled lightly.

"Well, my good mood is because of you." He told her. She blinked, a bit embarrassed.

"Really?" She asked. He nodded.

"I woke up this morning and I could not believe how fortunate I was. I'm the luckiest man in the world." He told her. She couldn't hold his gaze, at that, looking away.

"Me too." She admitted quietly. "I'm lucky as well."

The look he gave her at her words was so happy and warm she felt she almost couldn't bear the happiness she felt.

"Mother wants to debrief, she's decided on the plan of action!" Morgan called, advancing towards them, only to freeze in his tracks when he registered Lucina and Inigo's proximity. He pulled a face. "Bleggh, is now really the time to be gross, guys?" Lucina tugged her hands free and stepped a reasonable distance away from Inigo. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"My apologies. A debrief, you say?" She said quickly. "So it's been decided that we will proceed and rescue that woman's husband?"

"Mother thinks that the student might be one of us." Morgan explained. "Apparently the student approached the woman's husband a couple of years ago, claiming she had no family, no friends, and nowhere to go, and demanded that he teach her."

"That could be any orphan off the streets." Inigo responded, coming to stand beside Lucina. Morgan nodded.

"There were other factors as well- apparently people reported something similar to an outrealm gate opening the same day the student approached that woman's husband." Morgan explained. Lucina nodded.

"That could have been just a generic Risen invasion though- outrealm gates open all the time." Lucina argued. Morgan shrugged.

"I said all that to mother as well." He told her. "But someone's in trouble, and they need our help, even if it isn't one of us."

Lucina nodded.

"I see your point." She responded. "When do we leave?"

"Right after debrief." Morgan explained, eyes glittering seriously.

* * *

"When the Gaius breaks the lock, we proceed immediately." Lucina explained to Kjelle, the rest of her team lingering closely by, waiting for the chance to advance. "We are not to engage with any brigands on the other side- we make straight for your teacher. The Shepherds advancing behind us will take care of them. Our orders are to retrieve him and escort him safely from the stronghold."

"There may be another young girl taken hostage." Kjelle responded, her posture tense. She would only be able to advance slowly in her heavy-duty armour, but Lucina didn't have the time or resources to assign Kjelle to another team, and it was too dangerous to send her alone to any of the other positions stationed around the Brigand stronghold. This was a highly organised group, and she would compromise her mother's tactics as little as possible though new, unforeseen factors seemed to keep arising.

Lucina also had doubts that Kjelle would allow them to proceed to rescue her teacher without her. They had barely managed to stop her breaking into the fortress, arriving to find her ready to charge in and take on the entire group herself. The man's' wife had been right- his student would stop at nothing to rescue him. And Lucina's mother had been correct, as well- the student of the endangered man had been Kjelle herself. Lucina nodded.

"Then we proceed as planned, but escort the girl as well." Lucina responded, tightening her grip on falchion, still sheathed at her hip.

The lock clicked and Gaius grinned at her.

"I'm in." He told her, swinging the door open, and gesturing to it, as if he were offering to hold the door open while she entered the breakfast room. She ignored his carefree attitude- she was quite used to dealing with his child, after all.

Further down the corridor, darkly lit and poorly patrolled, hence why Robin had chosen this route of entry for the rescue team, a guard spotted her. They rushed towards her, their sword raised aloft with the intention to bring in crashing down on her- she caught it with falchion at the hilt. For a second, her arms threatened to crumble under the force, before she locked her elbows. She side-stepped enough for her attacker's balance to fail, having thrown all their weight downwards, and she took the opportunity to strike, plunging falchion downwards.

She quickly returned to advancing, hoping to find the room where Kjelle's teacher were hold, trying to ignore the oily, nauseous feeling that settled in her gut. Kjelle and the other two members of her team, Gaius and Ricken followed close behind, pausing only momentarily at the guard she had taken down before continuing to follow her. She didn't paused to clean her sword, instead signalling for the others. She tried not to focus on the resistance that had met her sword- instead she focused in on the air around her, dusty and stale, and the dark, flickering torches that lit the darkened corridor with flashes of hot orange. The air was electrified, and her blood buzzed in her veins in anticipation of another potential attack. Her heartbeat remained firmly lodged in her throat. They had no healers on the team- any injuries would have to wait until they were safely out of the enemy stronghold.

 _Smile_ , Inigo had told her. She pushed the thought away and dashed forward across an open space, hoping there were no archers in the midst.

Would he have her smile, as her sword pierced flesh? Yet she felt lighter, stronger as he entered her mind.

Her mother had shown her the route she intended the rescue team to take- Gauis was to break through the back gate, and they were take the corridor to the door at the end. It would lead to a small door that acted as a servants entrance to the main room where she suspected Kjelle's teacher and the young woman would be held, along with the head of the brigand group.

She held up a hand to stop their advance and paused with her hand on the handle- one hand held falchion loosely. Ricken readied his tome, spreading his legs apart, holding one hand extended out ahead of him, while Gaius held his sword in a two-handed grip and Kjelle tested the weight of her lance in her hands before Lucina forced the door open.

The other three shot through the door, and she followed in close pursuit, pausing just to their left. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight before her- blood spread outwards, pooling against the uneven stone ground. The puddle continued to inch towards her- Lucina felt nauseous at the sight. Both a young girl and an older, middle aged man lay, unmoving in the centre of the blood. A man with matted, long grey hair stood over them, the blood pooling around his boots and the tips of his cloak dragging in the puddle. He held a staff extended outwards, a thin, bone staff with a small skull at one end. He raised it aloft and black mist covered the unmoving bodies. The girl, who had probably still been alive, shuddered and retched, and Lucina had to look away from the contents of what she coughed up, before the girl went still once more.

"Oops." The man said, tilting his head to the side and extending the bone staff towards the party of four. "You're a little too late."

Kjelle dropped her spear and dashed forwards.

"Kjelle!" Lucina called, but it was too late. A waste spell quickly gathered around Kjelle, momentarily obscuring her from sight.

Outraged, Lucina dashed forwards, brandishing falchion- she could hear Ricken working to dispel the mage's magic, chanting words from his tome desperately.

The mage went down easily- Lucina was no stranger to waste spells, and they would not slow her movement. But it was too late, far too late. Though Kjelle desperately tried to rouse them, both her teacher and the young woman lay unmoving on the ground.

Lucina's tunic and gloves were covered with grotesque splatters of blood, and she couldn't even identify whose blood it was.

* * *

It rained during the funeral. Ylissean funerals were held out in the open air, so all who attended were drenched. Water droplets pooled against her skin before dribbling downwards, tracing the contours of her face. Icy fingers tickled her neck and cheeks, dripping from her fringe into her eyes. Kjelle stood stiffly, her posture straight and dressed in the traditional Ylissean mourning garb, beside her teacher's wife. She didn't seem to be crying, but it was impossible to tell in the rain. The other shepherds opted not to come. Kjelle had requested that they not be present, though Lucina had chosen to ignore the request.

Lucina rubbed her fingers together and stared down into the grass, weighed down by heavy droplets. Her boots and tights were soaked through, and her clothes clung uncomfortably to her skin. It was cold. Ice cold- her fingers, her skin, her heart. In her mind's eye she saw a dark puddle of blood, she saw two innocent, unmoving figures, cut down before she could get to them.

Kjelle hadn't cried when her mother died. She didn't cry this time either- instead, she stood solemnly as the grief-wracked woman beside her - Justine, as Lucina had later found out – sobbed desperately into her shoulder. Yet Lucina could see the grief written into every stiff line of her body. Her tightly clenched fists conveyed her distress.

Slowly, the crowd began to thin. People approached Kjelle and Justine, paying their respects to their fallen companion. Kjelle stood ramrod straight- she barely twitched to acknowledge those who approached her. Lucina combed her fingers through her hair, feeling a fresh wave of droplets cascade down her forehead and cheeks.

She felt like her body weighed a thousand tonnes- like magnets pulled her feet to the ground as she approached Kjelle. Justine straightened and her eyes widened as she registered Lucina's hesitant approach.

"I-" Lucina's voice cracked. For a moment, any words died in her throat. She cleared her throat and tried once more, though she wasn't sure what she had intended to say. "I'm so sorry."

Justine's eyes were rimmed with an angry red, and she trembled slightly, as she took stumbling steps towards Lucina. Her gait was uneven, like a newborn foal. She slowly reached forwards and wrapped her fingers around Lucina's hands, drawing them forward. They were ice cold against her skin, and Lucina had to trample down the urge to wrench her hands free and to flee. Justine swallowed and stared at the grass beside Lucina's boots. Lucina shifted her feet awkwardly.

"Why did this happen?" She asked softly, her voice a strained rasp. It was barely audible against the constant barrage of raindrops. "I don't understand. Wh-why did this happen?"

Lucina's throat tightened, and no words came. Justine released a strangled sob and her grip on Lucina's hands became almost painful.

"You said you'd help him! That he'd be ok!" She wailed, crumpling to her knees before Lucina, though she did not relinquish her bone-crushing grip on Lucina's fingers. Lucina swallowed, dropping her gaze, trying to avoid the despairing look to Justine's eyes as she drew them up to stare beseechingly at her.

"I'm sorry." It was all she could reply with.

"That won't bring him back!" The woman wailed. "Why isn't he here? How could he leave me?"

At this, Kjelle reached forward and gently untangled Justine's fingers from around Lucina's own. Her fingers had gone red from where Justine gripped her hands. She didn't meet Lucina's gaze.

"Kjelle, I-" Lucina began, another apology hot on the tip of her tongue. Kjelle cut her off.

"I think you should go." Kjelle responded. Her voice was hoarse, and cracked on the last syllable. She turned around, probably to hide her loss of composure from Lucina. "Just… Just go. Please."

Lucina hesitated, feeling a tremble set deep into her muscles, before she obliged. She took slow steps backwards. Her movements were stiff- there was a deep, cold ache in her bones. Finally she turned around and fled, though she wasn't sure where she was running to.

How could this have happened? Why, when she fought with every inch of her being, did so many plans come crashing down? She had promised, promised to protect her friends smiles, and yet she had failed enough that Kjelle couldn't even bear to face her. She stopped, doubling over, gasping for breath. She didn't bother to take in her surroundings, instead opting to fall to her knees. She felt like the strength had been sapped from her body. She planted her palms flat to the ground- wet grass blades tickled her hands. They came back from the future to avoid the heartache of their time, and yet they had just encountered heartache anew in this timeline. Would they never be safe from the ever present threat of despair? Were they all cursed to have dark clouds of tragedy lurk at the horizon no matter where they ran to?

"Lucina?" A tentative voice called. Lucina straightened, standing up slowly, and turned to find Cynthia, Morgan and Brady watching her carefully. They looked uneasy, as though they approached a spooked animal and were frightened it would lash out. They were fairly dry, compared to her. Morgan had clearly cast a waterproof spell. Rain droplets arced around them, instead of landing on them. Lucina no doubt looked like she had fallen into a pond. "You'll get sick like that!" Cynthia scolded lightly, stepping forwards. Lucina took a step backwards, and Cynthia dropped her hands, embarrassed. "Are you ok? How was the funeral?"

"Fine." Lucina said. "As fine as a funeral can be."

Cynthia glanced away awkwardly.

"I think you should come inside, Lucy, you're gonna get sick." Morgan said, cutting through the heavy silence that had fallen, his arms raised in preparation of casting a waterproofing spell on Lucina. She pushed his hands away. He let his arms dropped, and stared at her for a moment.

"Are you mad we didn't go?" He responded. "Kjelle asked us not to. You know she hates us seeing her like that."

She was outside the village where Kjelle's teacher had lived. She had stopped in a bank of trees, with small stone houses skirting the line of the trees.

"Not at all." She responded. "Cynthia."

Cynthia straightened, spreading her knees shoulder width apart and bringing one arm up in a salute.

"Yes, princess!" She answered, though Lucina wasn't sure if it was a genuine salute or an attempt to make her laugh. She swallowed, looking away. A thin scar sat on Cynthia's cheekbone, bright red as a side-effect of using mend. The accelerated healing that came from using such magic did not abate the oft-accompanying fever of an injury. Her cheek was an angry red, like some had slapped it. She had taken a bad enough hit in battle that Lissa or one of their other healers had deemed worthy of wasting a healing spell on. She hadn't been good enough to avoid injury. None of them had. They weren't good enough.

"How's your endurance training going?" She asked. "You've been slacking off lately. I'm doubling the amount of running you have to do and I expect you to be up an hour earlier- if it's light enough to see where you're going, you've slept in."

Cynthia's jaw dropped, before she flushed an angry red.

"Hang on," She protested angrily, but Lucina waved her off and turned her attention to Brady instead.

"And you- you've been crying again? How pathetic is that- how can you call yourself a soldier?"

Brady's eyes widened in hurt.

"Lucina," Morgan cut in, alarmed. She tugged her hand away when he reached for her, unwilling to accept his attempts to calm her. A flaring, angry panic sat hot and churning in her chest. They were inadequate- she was inadequate. She'd let them down, she was letting them down, she was going to let them down. "You're being unfair!"

"Unfair?" She felt like something had burst inside her and anger, hot and thick, poured through her veins, viscous but burning. "Unfair is being met with death and loss no matter where you turn to!" She shouted. "Unfair is fighting in vain for two whole years while your soldiers abandoned you and moved on with their lives! Unfair is giving every damn part of yourself to try and make the future better and failing anyway!"

Silence followed her outburst. She swallowed thickly, unable to quell the tides of anguish she felt that threatened to drag her under. She turned and left once more, leaving them gaping at her.

She didn't have time to cool down before Inigo found her. She didn't get very far- just to her own tent, kept dry by a waterproofing spell- they had clearly run to Inigo as soon as she had left the scene.

He was warm when he wrapped his arms around her. She had been shivering. She felt incredibly ill. She slumped weakly against him, and he didn't flinch as water seeped into his clothes or her ice cold fingers wrapped around his hands. He pushed her away gently so that he could meet her gaze.

"That's quite the grim countenance." He told her. She stiffened, and looked away. "Looks like someone forgot their daily smiling practice."

Frustrated, she pulled away from him, feeling even colder when his arms fell away. She paced back and forth across the small space and ran her hand through her hair, sending droplets of water scattering everywhere.

"He died." She told him. "He died, Inigo! Kjelle's teacher _died_ , and you didn't see the way she looked at me."

Inigo remained silent as she grew more and more agitated.

"Would you have me smile at that? Laugh as my sword spills blood?" She asked. His expression grew dark.

"You know that's not what I meant, Lucina." He answered. "I just meant-"

"That if I act like everything's ok, it'll be ok?" She responded. "I can smile the largest smile in the world, and it wouldn't change a thing. For the first time in my life, I was," Her voice cracked. "I was happy, and look what happened. Smiling won't save the future!"

He hesitated before he responded.

"It won't but it'll make it a damn lot easier!" He responded, earnestly, stepping forward and trying to wrap his hands around hers. She pulled back.

"Enough, Inigo!" She shouted. "We can't all have our heads filled with rainbows and sunshine! Egads, can't you understand what dire straights we're in? I won't fake a smile, not now, not ever, not until Grima lies dead at my feet! Now leave me! I want to be alone!"

Inigo looked shocked, and he mutely nodded, turning and leaving. Lucina shivered, feeling the onset of the cold.

* * *

Once she was dried and warmed, and with a nasty runny nose for her efforts, Lucina was able to look far more favourably upon Inigo's attempt to comfort her. She had been so completely out of line, and she felt awful for it. He had merely been trying his best to help her look on the bright side of a terrible, terrible situation, and yet she had done nothing but shout at him and accuse him of being a fool. The rain had since abated, and wrapping her cloak around her, she quickly left her tent, with the intention to deliver Inigo his much-needed apology. It wasn't his fault, after all, that he had been so sorely mistaken about his own ideals.

Outside the night was cold and heavy with the scent of ozone. The ground was thickly saturated and soft beneath her boots. Dead blades of grass and small, dried leaves stuck to the damp edges of her boots, and her feet sunk slightly into the ground. It often got cold like this, close to the borders of Regna Ferox, even in the height of Summer.

Ahead, she spotted the familiar white hair of her mother, almost luminous in the meagre light. She called out to her, and she slowly turned, smiling when she saw Lucina.

"How are you holding up, Luce?" She asked, jogging up to her to close the distance. Lucina grimaced just slightly.

"I'm fine." She responded.

"You look like the opposite of fine, but alright." Robin responded. "How can I help you? Shouldn't you be resting? You'd have to be a god to not get sick in this kind of weather, especially since you attended the funeral."

Lucina shrugged.

"I was looking for Inigo." She responded. Robin nodded, watching carefully, before a gentle, fond smile that Lucina wasn't really sure she appreciated tipped the corners of her mouth.

"He's just near the mess tent. I saw him talking to Cynthia and Owain."

Lucina nodded her thanks and set off her way, winding her way through the encampment. Her tent was on the opposite side of the mess tent- she didn't enjoy being so close to the centre of traffic. People were just beginning to filter in with the thought of dinner. Stahl was currently on kitchen duty and his meals were particularly divine. Slightly off to the side, as she approached, she spotted the familiar silver hair of her beloved.

Her stride, quick and sure before, quickly faltered. Any words she had prepared on her tongue quickly died. She now felt foolish, as she recalled her outburst, and realised apologising would be far more difficult than she initially assumed, especially if Cynthia and Owain were audience to it. She paused just out of sight, closer to the entrance of the tent, but within earshot, trying to gather up the courage to make her presence known when a snippet of their conversation caught her attention.

She hadn't picked up on it as she had approached but she could hear it now- the three of them were arguing. Curious, she edged closer.

"How could you mess up the plan so badly, Inigo?" Owain whined. "It was so perfect, wonderfully laid out and your task wasn't difficult at all!"

 _Plan?_ Lucina thought to herself. She felt uneasy for some reason, but she couldn't place why.

"Yeah, you were _supposed_ to get her to lighten up, not get worse!" Cynthia contributed shrilly. She heard no response from Inigo, and quickly shooed away Sully when Sully paused in confusion at seeing her there, just before entering the mess tent, hoping the three of them didn't notice. "She wants me to do _even more laps_."

Lucina stiffened- were they… were they talking about her? What plan could they have that could involve her?

She grimaced to herself- she had been rather strict, and had unfairly lashed out at Cynthia, Morgan and Brady, earlier that day. Perhaps they were referring to Inigo's constant attempts to get her to smile? The thought didn't sit right with her, that Inigo had an ulterior motive in sharing his life philosophy with her.

"And that's my problem, how, Cynthia?" Inigo responded, and she could hear the tense anger in his voice, like he was an elastic band pulled taut.

"Because you were _supposed_ to make the princess fall in love with you so that she would lay off that ridiculous training, and it _hasn't_ _worked!_ " Cynthia complained.

Lucina's heart dropped into her stomach. For a moment, the words simply did not make sense. What… what was Cynthia saying? Surely her sweet-natured friend was not capable of such a terrible act? She swallowed. Once. Twice. Her breathing was suddenly a lot more forced. No, surely not, surely not? Inigo had said he'd loved her… surely that couldn't be… it couldn't have been a lie? No one would partake in such an awful scheme! She knew Inigo- he would never do something with such devastating, awful consequences.

She stepped forward, exposing herself to their line of sight. Owain and Cynthia could see her, and their eyes widened in unison, thought Inigo had his back to her. At their reaction, though, he turned slowly to face her.

A whirlwind of emotions cross his face, so fast she could not catch them. They stared dumbly at one another for a long moment, before she gained the courage to speak, her voice hoarse and pained.

"Explain." She said, slowly. "What you meant by this plan. Surely… surely you didn't, Inigo?"

She stepped forward, to grab his hand, looking for some sort of reassurance that she had been mistaken. He looked away, unable to meet her gaze, though he did not pull away when she grasped his hand.

"Is it true?" She asked hoarsely.

"Lucina," Cynthia started, looking distressed and horrified, while her cousin grimaced. Both had gone quite pale. She ignored them.

"Inigo." She urged. "Did… did you get roped into this plan? Was there really such a scheme?"

He swallowed, and glanced downwards, his expression pained, before looking up to meet her eyes. She could not tell what lay in their depths.

"I… yes." He responded. "There was."

She pulled her hands free, feeling like his words had stung her. Like he had plunged his sword straight into her heart. Tears burned her eyes, and her throat stretched with the repressed urge to sob. He made a grab for her hands once more but she was quicker.

"But," he began, but she did not give him a chance, instead turning away to flee, as far as she could possibly get.

* * *

 **A/N: There you have it! The big reveal! I wanted this chapter to be ultra sad and emotional, to get across the emotional strain Lucina is under. She's sad and she's stressed and she's scared and so I kind of kicked her when she was down, whoops! I hope I got the emotion across. The ultimate achievement was if I manged to make you readers a little sad as well, but that might be a bit ambitious! Anyway, this story is drawing near to it's close! I said that it'd be 15 chapters and thought that it would be until I started to delve into this chapter, when I realised that what I originally had planned just didn't work. So I combined like three chapters into one and added an extra one and just basically reshuffled the last few chapters, so it ended up that this story will only be 14 chapters. Anyways, we've delved into the low point of the story, so good luck to you to make it through the angst and good luck to me for writing it well!**

 **I'm also sorry to end it on this note- It seems like I'm doing the thing where if the characters just talked it out, everything would be fine and dandy, but they're not. That doesn't last long, promise. I just think, because Lucina was already so worked up from the events earlier in the chapter, that she wouldn't have been able to talk it out. People don't listen to reason when they're as distressed as Lucina got in this chapter, as shown by her multiple lashing outs at the people she loved when they were only trying to help. So her running away at this point will give her a chance to cool down, process, and think about what's happening so that when, in the next chapter, the others decide it's time to talk it out, she's actually ready to hear what they're saying.**

 **I'll see you next Saturday! (Or Friday, depending on where in the world you are!)**

 **Next chapter: Inigo holds it together (barely)**


	12. Inigo holds it together (barely)

**A/N: I don't like this chapter very much. I really hate POV swaps mid-chapter, and originally it was two chapters, one from Inigo's point of view, one from Lucina's, but then I was like "Can I really be bothered to write two chapters of them whinging?" so I merged it into one chapter of them both whinging but I hate POV swaps so I was like "I know, I'll do it from Morgan's POV" and thought I was really clever and managed to dodge all the whinging but then I realised the next chapter wouldn't make sense if we didn't see what Lucina was thinking like it's a big jump for her to make without getting inside her head, so after ALL OF THAT, I still had to do a POV swap. I suppose it's ok. I still had fun writing it, because I think Morgan's a pretty amusing character. On the surface he seems shallow and quite silly, and when you get inside his head, he's still really silly, but he's also fairly clever. Anyways, enjoy, hopefully a new POV provides a fresh perspective on things!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Inigo holds it together (barely)**

It was rare- almost _unheard_ of- for Morgan to admit that he was wrong. Mostly on account of him almost always being right. Though he wasn't much of a bragger, he did have to admit he was pretty on the money for most things he came across. For instance, he knew almost _instantly_ when his sister had started to develop a crush on the shepherd's resident skirt-chaser. She was pretty obvious about it- all the signs had come on rather quickly, like some odd but fatal disease. Really, he was surprised Inigo hadn't noticed sooner that something was up.

This time, though, he had royally flubbed up. Completely and utterly made a mess of things. He almost wanted to fall to his knees in despair! Such a carefully, cleverly laid plan, dashed to pieces.

Owain and Cynthia sat before him, their heads bowed like they were being scolded by a stern parent. Which was sort of unnecessary- he preferred to think of himself as a laidback sort of guy. But even he, the calmest, most down-to-earth soldier in all the shepherds, was feeling a bit of a wear on his emotions.

"She found out?" Morgan echoed. In unison, both Cynthia and Owain tilted their heads downwards in a guilty nod.

"We were confronting Inigo about it, and she overheard. She won't talk to any of us- she hasn't been at a meal for ages, and no one can find her during the day." Cynthia said, her voice distressed. "I feel so awful- we did a really bad thing, didn't we? Her ignoring us is almost worse than the over-training!"

Morgan thought his adequate silence answer enough, as he slumped down beside his two friends on the bench. They automatically shuffled to the side to give him room, and he groaned, burying his face in his hands and rubbing his palms into his eyes.

Of course, Owain and Cynthia were not _completely_ to blame. In fact, the blame rested solely on him. His mother had warned him that tacticians were not manipulators- and the best laid plans were usually a result of transparency to those involved, and he had kept the most key players in the dark.

It had started when he first noticed Lucina was distancing herself from Inigo. He could only remember her in little flashes in his past- a petty fight here, a hilarious prank there, and some fond memory buried very early on, but somewhere, deep inside of him, he knew her like the back of his hand. He knew how she reacted, how she processed things, and he had known instantly that something was wrong when she began to avoid her most trusted friend and adviser. When he had confronted her, a few wily manoeuvres of the conversation had been enough to make her admit what he already suspected. Lucina had fallen for Inigo, and, like she always did when it came to feelings, she had shut down and tried to ignore it.

He had realised quickly that Inigo and Lucina would probably stop being friends before any _real_ progress was made, and that something had to be done. Of course, Cynthia and Owain were about as subtle as bricks, and not well-versed in the art of matchmaking. He needed something more…. Subtle. Something that couldn't be traced back to him. If Inigo had clued in for a second that any matchmaking was occurring, he would have been out the door in a heartbeat. However, Inigo was also incredibly susceptible to peer-pressure. And his peers had been under a lot of pressure.

The plan was less of a plan and more of an opportunistic improvisation as opportunities presented themselves to him, resulting in what he had thought was his most brilliant scheme to date. He had encouraged his friends to come up with some plan of action, egged them on as they grew more and more resolve to do _something_ about Lucina's behaviour, more out of concern for Lucina then any real intention to set her up with Inigo, but then inspiration struck (while reading a romance novel recommended to him by Sumia). All it had taken then was conveniently leaving that very romance novel in close proximity in Owain (because he knew, though Owain would never admit it, that his cousin was an absolute _sucker_ for romance novels) and from there he just had to watch and play along. Everyone had done the work for him- he had begun to wonder at the legitimacy of his mother's advice, when she told him never to manipulate his soldiers to achieve his own ends.

He had learned his lesson now, oh boy had he learned it. He couldn't even comprehend how to go about fixing a problem this large- Lucina wouldn't talk to him, Inigo was probably lying in his room in the throes of heartbreak and despair, and though he adored the two friends sitting beside him, they would be _absolutely_ no help.

He finally straightened, resolving that the first call of action was to ensure that Inigo did not succumb to his heartbreak. Inigo's room was in the far wing of the castle, with all the other time-travelling kids recruited to join the shepherds. He bid Cynthia and Owain good-bye, and they responded with meek acknowledgements of his farewell, before setting off in the direction of his friend's room. No doubt he would be a mess. Perhaps lying on his bed, dead to the world, or in a puddle of his own tears. Morgan paused for a moment, before swinging the door open as dramatically as he could, ready to hurl comfort at his friend.

The room was empty.

That was… odd? Perhaps Inigo had opted to take a brooding walk? To stare artfully out at some beautiful scenery as he contemplated his heartbreak?

In any case, he wasn't despairing in his room, so Morgan had no business there. Except maybe the quick prank- he grabbed a pair of boots and performed a quick spell to swap their appearances. Inigo would put them on the wrong way round and it would be _hilarious_.

His business finished, he set off once more down the corridor, intent on finding Inigo and consoling him. The palace staff had no idea where he was- or at least, the ones in the kitchen didn't when Morgan went down to steal a snack. They wouldn't give him an apple but one of the apprentice bakers slipped him a tart to make up for it. He stopped in the gardens, munching on his ( _delicious_ ) tart, completely stumped. Inigo hadn't been in his rooms, nor in the kitchens, and there really wasn't anywhere else that Morgan could be bothered to look for him. He sighed, ready to retire to the library when he noticed his mother out in the garden, reading a book to Lucy. He approached them, and Robin looked up, holding one hand over her brow to shield her eyes from the sun as she stared up at her son.

"Hello Morgan." She said. "Weren't you supposed to be on a mission with the Shepherds?"

Morgan nodded.

"I had to cancel because a close friend of mine encountered some serious difficulties, and I thought I should be there for him." He explained, settling down on the ground beside his mother. Lucy had fallen asleep, her head resting comfortably across her mother's lap.

"Mmm, that friend wouldn't happen to be Inigo, would he?" Robin asked, and Morgan didn't miss the sharpness in her gaze as she turned to watch him, the movement almost lazy.

"Just how perceptive are you, mother? You're truly a genius." Morgan said, shaking his head in wonder. She raised an eyebrow and smirked just slightly.

"Well, not to dispute that, since it's quite true, but Lucina _does_ talk to me on occasion, you know?" Robin responded. Morgan grimaced.

"So she told you about our little stunt, eh?" He responded, glancing down at his hands and fidgeting. Guilt, hot and unpleasant, churned in his gut.

"Yes." Robin responded. "But I also know you wouldn't do something like that to your sister… would you care to explain what you were thinking?"

"I don't think I _was_ thinking." Morgan responded. "But if you can call what I did thinking, then I was probably thinking I could trick the others into matchmaking Lucina and Inigo."

Robin tutted, and shook her head.

"Surely my future self taught you better than that, kid." She said, with a heavy sigh. "Take it from an expert matchmaker- never let others handle your dirty work. It's just inviting in unnecessary complications."

Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"Expert matchmaker?" He echoed. She chuckled lightly.

"There's a reason there've been so many marriages among the shepherds. Anyway, you kids do _not_ make things easy for me- the only thing harder than calming down Chrom after that little stunt Lucina and Inigo pulled at the manor of lost souls was when he ran into Lucina right after she found out. Inigo's lucky to still be alive after that."

Silence fell between them. Morgan tried not to think of how his father might have reacted. He was a terrifying man when he wanted to be. Something Lucina had inherited.

"He's in the training room, flirting up a storm with the girls." Robin said after a while. She had closed her eyes, enjoying the warm sun on her face, but now opened one to squint at him out of the corner of her eye. "You're not very good at looking."

Morgan was already on his feet.

"Thanks mum!" He answered, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek of Lucy before setting off towards the training room. Only when he was halfway there did he register his mother's words. Flirting up a storm? He paused, just outside, his hand hovering over the handle. Surely not? Inigo had liked Lucina, right? He had caught them together, right before everything went south, and they had seemed so happy and content together. Surely Inigo couldn't have _actually_ faked that kind of interest? Surely he _wouldn't_ have?

Morgan swung the door open with what was probably more force than was actually necessary, to find Inigo standing in front of Cynthia, holding her hand to his lips.

"Get away from her!" Morgan screeched, throwing himself forward to tackle Inigo to the ground. He landed on top of Inigo and they both hit the ground with a heavy thump. Morgan recovered first, not bothering to get off Inigo before he began his tirade. "Are you _serious_ right now? It's barely been a few days, how can you already be back to your womanising ways? Did you ever _really_ like my sister?"

Inigo didn't respond, simply lying limply against the floor and Morgan began to register the signs that Inigo wasn't as put together as first glance would have had Morgan believe. He was pale, slightly gaunt, and ugly purple bruises encircled the lower half of his eyes. His silvery hair was ruffled and uncombed, which was practically unheard of for Inigo- his hair was his pride and joy. Slowly, Morgan lifted himself off his friend and sat back on his heels. Inigo didn't meet his gaze.

"Guess you're mad I ruined the plan, huh?" Inigo asked. He shrugged. "It was a hare-brained scheme to begin with. I am sorry I let you guys down though. At least it kind of worked- she won't even look at any of us."

Morgan was silent, feeling a trickle of realisation sting his skin as he stared at his friend.

"Did you… love her?" Morgan asked hesitantly. Inigo chuckled, but it was a raw and painful sound. It was answer enough. Morgan got to his feet, before offering his hand to Inigo. Cynthia watched them both, guilt written into the lines of her face.

"I…" She began. "We really messed up, didn't we?"

Morgan nodded, before turning to Inigo.

"I… I get that you're upset, Inigo." Morgan began. "But jumping right back into the playing field is _not_ the way to deal with this- have you even attempted to explain to Lucina that this is one big misunderstanding?"

Inigo didn't respond. Instead, he got to his feet, brushing imagined dirt of his trousers. He smiled sheepishly. It unnerved Morgan how convincing that smile was.

"It's no matter, friend, I have much more pressing issues to deal with. Like informing Cynthia how absolutely _divine_ she looks today!" He said, going to grasp Cynthia's hand once more. She tugged it free, and he let his arm drop. For a moment, he stood there, looking downwards, and then he inhaled deeply and shrugged. "It appears I've outstayed my welcome. I'll leave you two to train, since I'm assuming that's the reason you're here!"

For a short while, Cynthia and Morgan stood side by side as Inigo exited. Then Cynthia turned around and punched Morgan in the shoulder, hard.

"Ow!" Morgan cried out, his arm flying up to nurse the injured area. "What's that for?" He complained, glaring at his friend. She met his stare with equal ferocity.

"That was because you're an idiot!" She exclaimed. She then held her arm out to him. "Now it's my turn. Punch me good!"

Morgan shook his head incredulously.

"I'm not going to do that." He responded.

"Why not?" Cynthia complained.

"Because it's stupid! I'm not gonna punch my friend!" He responded. She pouted, just slightly.

"You just tackled Inigo to the ground!" was her response. Morgan blinked sheepishly as it occurred to him that he had, in fact, tackled Inigo to the ground.

"That's different." He protested. "Punching you won't aid the situation at all!" He said. He rubbed his arm resentfully. "Even though I kind of want to now, because that was _completely_ unnecessary."

Cynthia frowned.

"So what do you propose we do, instead?" She asked. Morgan straightened, adjusting his sleeves and meeting Cynthia's gaze evenly.

"Easy. We're gonna talk to Lucina."

* * *

Said task was easier said than done. Lucina came back from the Shepherd's mission a week later, with Noire in tow, having rescued her from some bandits who wished to sell her as a slave. She only spoke to Severa, Kjelle and Noire, all three of whom had not been involved in the "plan". Even Morgan was subjected to the cold shoulder- Lucina would pretty much run in the opposite direction every time he drew near, an unpleasant surprise he could not quite believe. His sister adored him- no matter how bad a thing he had done, she had always forgiven him. Even from the period where his memories lapsed, he still had the vague impression of her constant adoration and kindness.

Eventually, it occurred to Morgan that he had to either allow things to continue on their current tract, which could very well end with Inigo remaining a soulless zombie for the rest of his life and Lucina never speaking a word to any of her shepherds again, or he would have to put his tactician's mind to use.

He settled on the latter. It was time for Lucina to hear what was going on, and he had given her more than enough space to accept what had happened.

Lucina was fairly gullible- it didn't take much effort to corner her. He simply had Sully report to her that Robin was looking for her to discuss something, and then he had Owain lock the two of them in the room together. Owain was under strict instructions not to release them under any circumstances.

That part of the plan was well executed, but he unfortunately hadn't anticipated Lucina's response to being locked in a room with one of the people she was furious with. Her avoidance of the problem had boiled down to a fight-or-flight response, and with flight eliminated, Lucina resorted to fight.

"I can't believe you would do something like that!" She screeched at him, hurling objects at him between words. His mother's office held a lot of junk, which meant a lot of projectiles that were getting unnervingly closer to colliding with his head.

"Just hear me out, Lucina!" Morgan declared, diving behind a desk to avoid an inkpot. It was empty and collided with the bookshelf behind him, clattering loudly to the ground. He then had to roll to avoid a large tome that would have taken a lot of force to hurl at such a velocity. His sister was terrifying!

"I have nothing to hear from you!" She shouted, tears streaming down her face. She scrubbed at her face with her sleeves and looked away from Morgan. Morgan felt sick. He couldn't believe he had done something horrible enough to make his sister, normally so composed and held together, to cry hysterically like this.

"I know what we did was horrible. But please, just hear me out! You don't have the whole story Luce." He begged.

She blinked up at him. Tears clumped her eyelashes together and her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen.

"What could you possibly say that could make this situation any better?" She responded, her voice wobbly and cracked. Her hand drifted dangerously close to another inkpot, glass and filled with ink this time. He had to act fast, or Lucina may do some damage that even he couldn't fix with a quick spell.

"Inigo loves you!" Morgan blurted. Lucina's hand paused in its journey to the inkpot. She glared up at him disbelievingly.

"You're not still trying to push that, are you?" She responded. "I won't fall for the same trick twice."

"It's not a trick!" He exclaimed. "Inigo really, genuinely loves you, Lucina."

Her fingers wrapped around the inkpot, but she made no move to throw it. Instead, slowly, she released her grip, and he could see her resolve crumple, as her body sagged.

"I don't believe you." She said quietly. "Not after… He admitted he was in on the plan."

"He did." Morgan said. "And so was I. But he wanted no part in the plan, Lucina. From day one, he tried to back out."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" She argued back.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't. I'm not trying to make you feel better, though. I'm trying to tell you how it is." He responded. She had now calmed enough to listen. He stood before her and met her gaze evenly. "Inigo's feelings for you are real, and they didn't form because of some stupid plan."

She looked ready to protest, but he cut her off, clapping both hand across her mouth. A muffled protest sound from her. When he was sure that she would remain silent, he removed his hands and wiped them off on his cloak.

"He did go along with it at first." Morgan admitted. "Right before we found Laurent. We would force him to talk to you, and he would."

Lucina looked away, her posture stiff and uncomfortable.

"And then when you got injured, he put his foot down. I managed to weasel one little date out of him and then we couldn't pressure him into anything. That was the day you spent out in town with him." Morgan explained. Lucina didn't respond, still staring firmly to the left, though Morgan caught the glimmer of tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. She swallowed slowly.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked, at last, meeting his gaze head on. Morgan hesitated for a moment before responding.

"Because you and Inigo love each other." Morgan responded. "And we messed that up for you. We're supposed to be your friends, and we screwed up. You have every right to be mad. But not at him. At us. Nothing beyond that day in town was forced. Anything that happened between you two was genuine and completely unprompted from us."

Lucina glanced down, squeezing her hands into fists until her knuckles were white.

"Would you have me forgive him? Act like it never happened? Act like he never pretended?" She responded. "I thought… I felt so foolish, Morgan. I believed that he had suddenly turned around and seen me, finally seen me. But he was just going along with your stupid plan. Even if he did back out, he still… he still…" Her voice cracked and she dropped her gaze. Tears flowed freely once more, trickling down the contours of her face.

Morgan reached for his sister cautiously, like he was afraid she would reach for the glass inkpot. He felt no resistance as he pulled her into a hug- he had to straighten slightly because Lucina was still slightly taller than he was, though he loathed to admit it. She slumped weakly against him and he felt tears begin to soak into the shoulder pad of his tactician's robes.

"You don't have to forgive him." Morgan said, slowly. "You could hold it against him the rest of his life. What he did- what we did- was bad enough that you could justify it to any reasonable person. But you love him, and I don't think you want to hold it against him."

She was silent, before slowly, he felt her shake her head.

"I do love him." She admitted in a hoarse whisper. Morgan pulled away.

"Gross." He responded, pulling a face. When she didn't look amused, he concluded it was too soon to try and joke. "Fight for him, Lucina. He's a mess, and he won't fix this. He's acting like he's alright when he's not. He won't be alright until you talk it out with him."

"I… I…" She responded. She then fell silent.

She stood abruptly then, and turned away.

"I want to go." She told him. He almost protested, but she turned around and shot him an odd look- it was gentle, but sad. "I just… need some time to think."

He let her go. His mother had taught him a valuable lesson once. There was a point at which one had to stop planning. It would be easy to try to take control of every step, but once the foundations of a plan was laid, the best tacticians let things happen naturally. That was what he decided to do in that moment. He had told Lucina the truth. The rest was up to her, and what she chose to do.

He hoped she made the right choice, whatever the right choice was for her.

* * *

Lucina reached her room and shut the door. She slumped backwards against it and slid down the wood. She felt such turmoil- who would she believe? Morgan? Inigo? Or her own instincts? Some deep dark part of her heart was laughing at her, mocking her for ever believe that Inigo could really fall for her. And yet…

The image of his smile flashed in her eyes. Inigo was always a convincing smiler. She had learned, though she couldn't place the exact moment when, that a lot of Inigo's smiles did not come naturally. He chose to smile. And while they always seemed filled with a determined optimism and inextinguishable hope, there was something lighter, more joyous about the smiles he had given her. Like they had come naturally. Like he hadn't forced himself to smile.

She squeezed her eyes shut, clasping her hand against her chest and resting her head against her knees. Scrunched up in a ball like this, she felt like she could shield herself from the onslaught of emotions she was feeling. Heartbreak, uncertainty, hope, sadness… The list went on. She knew what she wanted- she wanted Inigo. His comforting embrace, his warm smile, his endless kindness. The secure joy he brought her, like being close to him could shield her from all the dangers she faced in this world. Kjelle still would not speak to her. No doubt she blamed her for their failure of a mission. Grima was still a looming threat. Her shepherds were still woefully undertrained. Inigo had made that burden seem lighter, but now she felt the weight of it plus more weighing down on her shoulders.

Was that joy gone? Had that sense of safety been sapped away by the revelation that it had all been a lie? Morgan had insisted it hadn't. That Inigo truly loved her. She wanted to believe it, wanted to believe it more than anything. Did she trust him? She wasn't sure… the thought made her despair. Even a week away, on a mission filled with dozens of things to distract her had not been sufficient to make her forget.

It all boiled down to her, she supposed. If Morgan was right, and Inigo truly did love her, then she knew he would never make any move to approach her. He would carry on, acting as if nothing had ever happened. He would smile through it, and pick up the pieces. That was how he had always been. When his mother died, he hadn't gone to her funeral. When his father died, he had reported for duty the very next day, ready to act as if his world hadn't collapsed around him. When she had started avoiding him, he had let her, ready to let their friendship go if that was what she had wanted.

And if he didn't love her… she couldn't face the thought. She didn't believe that he didn't love her, though. She knew him, and even if he had lied, even if, for a few days, he had entertained some silly notion that he could make her back down on over-training the others, even if some nagging voice in her head was trying to convince her that it had all been a lie, she knew Inigo would never take things that far.

That was at least one part of her life she could fix. She couldn't bring Kjelle's teacher back. She couldn't make the Shepherds invincible. Maybe even stopping Grima was out of her reach. But she could talk to Inigo. She could forgive him.

They could move forward.

* * *

 **A/N: We're drawing near to this story's close. Just two more chapters and we're done. I'm sort of glad- I can feel my investment in this story slipping a little. If I can just brave it through the last half of the final chapter, I'll have it finished and you guys can enjoy this story in its full. I'm thinking maybe I'll write another one in this universe, covering some other pairings, but there aren't really any I'm that invested in... Like I feel like I'd need some convincing to ship any other pairings. I sort of like Cynthia/Morgan but I like Cynthia/Gerome more... Morgan/Severa could be cute as well. I think it'd be a Morgan-centric fic if I did, maybe focusing on his failure attempts at matchmaking... what do you guys think? Should I go for it? What pairings would you want to see if I did write another fic? Let me know, yeah?**

 **Next chapter: I feel like this has happened before**


	13. I feel like this has happened before

**A/N: I'm really emotional, because Fullmetal alchemist was on netflix and I watched all five seasons and literally JUST finished the last episode and just ugghhhhhh I'm so unbelievably emotional. I like to term the emotion I'm feeling the "End-credits" feels. Which, hopefully, if I've written this story write, the next chapter will trigger in you guys. I'm also emotional because this is the penultimate chapter. This is the closest I've gotten to finishing a story. The next chapter isn't finished yet but I reckon it will be by next week because I don't have much left to wrap up. So, without any further ado, I bring you the second last chapter of This Can Only Go Wrong.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: I feel like this has happened before**

"It was sunny like this, when you and I met, wasn't it my lovely Minerva?" Cherche cooed, smoothing her hands across the scaled hide of her Wyvern. The dragon rumbled contentedly in response, extending her neck as Cherche dug her fingers behind the horns to scratch at the softer scales there.

Lucina, too extended her hands to run her fingers across Minerva's scales, which glinted a pure silver in the warm sunlight. Inigo did not miss the furtive glance she shot over her shoulder at him before returning her attention to the Wyvern. He wrote the look off with disappointment. She had not spoken to him since she found out- a quick glance over her shoulder meant nothing.

Cynthia fiddled with the saddle atop her Pegasus, smoothing down the buckles and running her hands beneath it to check for anything that may be lodged beneath it. She then ran her hands down the hind leg of her Pegasus, hoisting up her hoof and locking it over her hip so that she could examine it.

"I don't see anything wrong." Cynthia announced, releasing her hold and stepping backwards. Her Pegasus stamped her hoof back down and tossed her head indignantly.

Cherche nodded.

"That's a relief. It would be bad if she was lamed this high up." Cherche responded. Cynthia nodded her agreement. She glanced out across the valleys, her eyes contemplating.

"It means we can keep searching, for now. I might give her a little longer to rest, just until she calms down a little more." Cynthia said, her smile soft. "If he's anywhere out there, this is where he'll be."

Her contemplative moment came as a surprise to Inigo- he did not think her capable of such a subtle, quiet expression. Inadvertently, his eyes flickered towards Lucina. His gaze met hers, deep sapphire blue locking him in place. For a moment, she stared at him, her expression unreadable, before she caved and glanced away.

"We'll scout ahead then." Lucina said, while Cherche was already waiting on Minerva's back. Lucina paused before climbing onto Minerva's back, fixing him with a long, unflinching stare. She looked like she was about to say something, but seemed to think better about it, and hoisted herself up onto the Wyvern. Leathery wings stretched out to either side and the Minerva set off with a powerful blast of air. Inigo had to throw up his arms to protect his face from the battering wind, and when he opened his eyes once more, Cherche and Lucina were already far off into the distance.

With a sigh, he dropped to the ground. He felt Cynthia settled down next to him, and he did not spare her a glance. He considered making some off-handed comment about how beautiful she was, simply because he knew it would fluster her and she would move away. Eventually she was the one to break the silence.

"I'm sorry." There was a heavy note of solemnity colouring her tone. He didn't spare her a glance, but his heart dropped into his stomach.

"About what?" He asked, though his tongue felt thick in his mouth, like he was speaking through a mouthful of cotton. She lightly rested a gloved hand on his shoulder. The weight of her hand was heavy but it did not comfort him.

"What we did to you." She said simply. "It was awful. I didn't realise until Lucina found out… but we were all so out of line. All of us. We don't have an excuse."

He swallowed passed the dryness in his throat and dared a glance at her. Awful was an understatement. He felt like his heart had been bruised and battered into a useless pulp. He was a soldier, he was no stranger to pain, and had a higher pain threshold than the average civilian, yet he felt he could not bear the agony that was heartbreak. He felt stupid, guilty, like the rottenest soul alive. And how he longed for Lucina to be by his side.

"It's fine." He muttered, dismissively, but he winced at the way his voice trembled with an angry restraint. In truth, he wasn't mad at Cynthia. Or Owain. Or Morgan. Or any of them, really- the blame fell on his shoulders. He had made a choice, no matter how much he had regretted it and tried to undo it. His actions had consequences and he had to face what he had done.

He chanced a glance at Cynthia then- she was watching him very carefully, her eyes almost squinted in her effort to read him. He glanced away once more.

"In my head," Cynthia started. "There were only good things to come out of a plan like that. Lucina was pining after you, and being so painfully obvious about it. So you were going to give her what she wanted. And you cared about her so much… I didn't think it would take much for you to fall for her. And when you two were together, she would finally lay off the training. I never even considered what would happen if she learned the truth."

He almost laughed bitterly. Lucina had been pining after him? The thought, rather than flattering him, only served to make the ache in his chest deeper. What came out, instead of a laugh, was an odd sort of chuckle, low in his chest, almost like a cough.

"The truth had to have come out, sooner or later." He admitted. "It's better that it came out now. Naga knows, I was far too much of a coward to ever admit to her the truth about it. I was tempted, to just forget about it, and move forwards. To stop acknowledging that it had ever entered my mind."

Cynthia hoisted herself to her feet, brushing grass stains off the back of her pants, before edging towards her Pegasus. She ran her hand firmly across the neck of the beast, and began to check its saddles for any folds or tangle in the buckles.

"She will forgive you, you know." Cynthia said, when silence had reigned for too long a period for her to bear. "She's like that. If she hasn't already. She's probably making plans to confront you as we speak."

Inigo got to his feet. Inwardly, he braced himself, squashed the words, squashed the stupid hope they gave him, before deciding abruptly that it was time for a subject change.

"Has she rested long enough? At this rate, we may never find Gerome. And we can forget about catching up with Lucina and Cherche." He said, resting his hand on the rump of Cynthia's Pegasus. Cynthia stared at him for one long, contemplative moment, before hooking a foot in the stirrup of her saddle and hoisting herself up onto her Pegasus. He followed suit, settling into the saddle behind her and resting his arms against the saddle. She was about to kick off, when something in the distance distracted her.

"Do you see that, Inigo?" She questioned, pointing out to the east. He followed her gaze and squinted. It was an odd sight- a bit like a star in the sky, except set against that backdrop of the endless canyon. A tail trailed from the twinkling object, and disappeared between two looming cliff faces.

Both of them registered what they were staring at in the same moment- a distress flare.

"Is that where we left those civillians?" Inigo questioned tensely. Cynthia nodded, and turned her head to glance at him.

"Yes." She responded, before squeezing her knees into her steed's sides. It set off at a gallop towards the edge of the clifftop they were on. Inigo squeezed his eyes shut as the Pegasus took a flying leap. For a moment, his stomach swooped with the terrifying feeling of falling, before the Pegasus spread its snowy white wings. A draft of wind caught the underside of her wings and they shot upwards, before she began to glide easily through the air. Inigo kept his gaze fixed firmly on Cynthia's hair flying wildly around her head like the flickering tongues of a flame, in an attempt to ignore the dizzying drop beneath them as they cut through the air in the direction of the distress flare that had been sent up.

Risen scattered the cliff tops, growing in frequency and distribution as they near the source of the distress signal. When they had first arrived in the valley, they had come across some residents of a village that bordered the edge of Wyvern Valley. The village thrived from its proximity to the valley- tamed Wyverns helped greatly with most of the labours involved with the upkeep of a small village, and the valley itself was rich in fertile land. The presence of a Wyvern population close by was also sufficient to keep most trouble makers at bay. The biggest problem the village faced was the presence of poachers. Wyverns were a sacred species to them, providing protection, companionship and aid in their labour, and so poachers were more than just a threat- they were highly offensive. These particular villagers had stumbled across the remains of a Wyvern, felled by unnatural means, and were searching for the perpetrators. Worried by the potential presence of Wyverns, Robin had bestowed upon them the means to call for help should they stumble upon a danger that was more than they were equipped to handle.

That particular area of the valley was designed for travellers interested in seeing the majesty of the valley but also to prevent them from disturbing the serenity of the valley. It accomplished this by being a built, easily accessible area that allowed them to view the Wyverns in their nests built in shallow depressions in the cliffside from a safe distance. From their view from above, Inigo could easily discern the group of villagers, packed into a tight knot, Risen herding them closer into a tighter group.

Cynthia's Pegasus landed on a grassy clifftop, cantering along the surface, slowing first to a trot, and then a walk, and then coming to a complete stop. Inigo alighted, sliding off the saddle, and landing neatly on the spongy ground. He felt the gust of air that told him Cynthia was taking off and darted forward, his sword already done. He plunged into the thick aggregation of Risen, swiping his sword, dodging blows. He could hear the clangs of metal on metal, the strange groans of fallen Risen, the sounds of shouts of pains. The other Shepherds were present, scattered across the cliff tops trying to eliminate the Risen threat.

He broke through the line of Risen, dust billowing out from where they were destroyed, and found himself face to face with the knot of surrounded Villagers. He spun around quickly, holding his sword straight ahead of him.

The Risen hesitated. He wasn't sure where Cynthia had gone. For a moment, he locked his gaze on glowing red eyes. Their mouths gaped open wide. Decayed skin slid off their faces, exposing the muscles beneath. Their eyes were sunken and held no irises or pupils. Only red, glowing red. In the bright sunlight they were more grotesque. Shadows highlighted the peeling of their skin. The colour of rot was more apparent in the light.

One broke the line they had formed, stumbling awkwardly forward. He held his sword aloft, until it drew near enough for him to attempt a strike. He threw all his strength into his swing. His sword implanted itself in the trunk of the Risen's neck, before sinew and spine provided too much resistence. The head lolled back, the wound gaping wide. The Risen dissolved into smog.

Then they all broke the line. Inigo was a skilled fighter and Risen were not difficult to defeat once equipped with the right skills, but in this high number, they were difficult to handle. He took a glancing blow of the shoulder plate of his answer. It dented it enough that his arm movement was limited. He was being forced back while the villagers shrunk into themselves and quailed in terror.

Other Shepherds joined him. He caught glimpses of white, or pink, or red that told him his fellow soldiers were aiding him in cutting through the endless supply of Risen.

There were too many. They couldn't force them back. The circle grew wider, but they were still surrounded on all sides. A blow caught his back and he pitched forward, exhausted. It was over, they were doomed. Undone by a crowd of Risen.

It wasn't over, though. He glanced up, forcing himself to his feet and rolling away to dodge an axe strike from the same Risen that had dented the back of his armour. An axe went flying, spiralling through the air, lodging deeply in the chest of the Risen. Almost automatically it seemed a path had cleared in the endless swarm of undead soldiers. The villagers took this as their cue, making a mad dash between the chaotic fighting for the bridge on the far side of the clifftop. An immense Wyvern, one he had been with earlier that day, hovered a few metres above the ground, keeping the Risen at bay with powerful swings of her tail. Atop the Risen, for a moment the rider was obscured, but when Inigo was forced to dodge an arcwind spell, the angle of the sun change and he recognised the armour, the wild hair, the face partially obscured by a mask.

"Escort the civillians!" Gerome ordered, and Inigo did not hesitate to obey, turning and fleeing, pausing at the bridge to cut down the Risen that were trying to cross behind him. He then started off across the rickety bridge, feeling it swing wildly as the villagers raced across.

"Quickly!" Inigo called. When they had cleared the bridge, he swung around to check that none of his allies were on the bridge. Seeing only Risen grasping to the sides as the crude rope bridge swung, he pulled back his sword before slicing it down through the ropes that held the bridge in place across the cliff tops. "Sorry guys!" He called to the others still on the other cliff top as the bridge plummeted, sending the Risen down with it.

"Run over there, to the next bridge!" He ordered. The villagers obliged, racing off ahead of him while he brought up the rear.

He had miscalculated though- he had not taken into consideration the possibility of winged fliers. A Wyvern seeming materialised from the cliffside, coming level with the villagers. Its rider was not on their side- they faced a wyvern lord Risen.

"No!" Inigo shouted, forcing himself forward as the tail of the Wyvern swept forward, knocking the villagers in front of it clear over. "Get back!"

He forced himself through, though they were panicked and chaotic. He found himself face to face with the Wyvern- it snapped at him and he threw himself backward, only to be caught by its tail. He winced as he impacted against the tailed, a solid as an iron wall. The Wyvern flicked its tail upwards, and he found himself soaring through the air.

He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself for impact as the ground rushed out to meet him, and collided forcefully enough that any breath he held in his lungs was knocked cleaned in a pained shout. Pathetically, he looked up, preparing for the worst. The Risen through its axe and it went spiralling through the air towards him.

A shadow passed over his head. Above him, he could see the outwards stretched wingspan of a Pegasus. It landed in front of him with terrifying force, and the red-headed rider deflected the axe with her lance easily.

Moments later a weight landed in a flash of blue on the back of the attacking Wyvern. His heart stopped at the familiar shade of midnight blue.

Instantly, they engaged, Lucina balanced precariously on the back of the Wyvern, while the rider was forced to turn awkwardly in the saddle, unable to lock his feet from the saddle. It had a sword sheathed at its side- with its axe gone, it drew the sword and engaged with Lucina.

For a moment, they both exchanged blows, both unable to land a hit with any real power due to the awkward angles they were at. It was foolish of Lucina to fight directly on the Wyvern's back, but Wyvern hovered just out of reached over the edge of the cliff top, out of reach for a non-flier.

Cynthia slid down off her Pegasus, helping Inigo to his feet. He stumbled, his weight folding into her, but he paid no heed, his eyes transfixed on the battle before him. A creeping dread froze his feet in place. Lucina took a bad step- her foot slipped across the smooth scales of the wyvern's hide- the Risen wrenched its foot free and spun around, swing its sword.

She, too, swung falchion, and in an exchange that was obscured by a powerful flap of the Wyvern's wings, both swords met with a loud clang of metal.

When their bodies were revealed once more, for a second, relief filled Inigo when he realised that he could see falchion protruding from the abdomen of the Risen. But in that same moment, he followed its outstretched arms and the length of the thin silver sword. Lucina's mouth gaped wide, and she stared downwards.

His heart stopped. The sword disappeared into her abdomen. The Risen dissolved into purple smoke, and when that cleared, all that remained was Lucina, poorly balanced on the back of the Wyvern, gripping the sword at its base where it had stabbed her. Eyes wide, her gaze flickered up. He could not hear her. Her mouth formed clear syllables.

"I…ni…go." Blood dribbled from the corners of her lips as she choked out the words. The Wyvern's body rolled as it gave another flap to keep it in the air, and her feet slipped. Her body went slack. She pitched sideways and plummeted off the cliff side.

Someone was screaming. He realised moments after he registered the pain in his throat that it was him. Like knives pierced his throat. He was shouting her name. He tried to run to her. He couldn't. Arms held him back. Around his abdomen his movement was prevented. He could not go to her. He could not get to her. She had fallen. She was falling.

"Lucina!" He shouted. He threw his weight forward with all his might, and the restraints vanished. Desperately, he scrambled to the cliffside. She wouldn't have fallen. Lucina couldn't die. No… she would have grabbed onto something. She needed his help. She was fine. Just waiting for him to grab her hand and pull her to safety.

He collapsed weakly on his stomach- all the strength had been sapped from his limbs. Cynthia had vanished- it had been the villagers holding him back. Stopping him from helping her. Something wet dribbled down his cheeks. It may have been tears. It may also have been blood.

He felt sick. Nauseous, even. A wave of dizziness swam across his mind, so powerful he may have blacked out for a moment. He tried to muster strength into his limbs, and pulled himself pathetically to his knees.

"Lucina." He choked.

A blast of air almost knocked him sideways, followed by a clatter of hoofs.

"She doesn't make things easy." Sounded Cynthia's voice. Shocked, he looked up, and relief so powerful he had to brace himself on his hands and knees to stop himself from sinking into the ground filled him. Lucina was draped over the powerful neck of Cynthia's Pegasus. "That was actually scary. I know I spend a lot of time in the air, but I don't like dropping that much."

She slid off, wrapping her arms carefully around Lucina to tug her off the back of her Pegasus. Inigo scrambled to his feet, registering the blood that smeared across the white neck of the horse and darkly stained her tunic. She wasn't out of the woods yet. She was still hurt. But she was alive. Still alive. He took her from Cynthia, cradling her gently against him.

"Lucina…" He murmured. Once more, she had taken a fall for him that should have been his own. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open, squinting at him weakly. A strained smile thinned her lips.

"Inigo…" She breathed softly.

Lucina's blood spread outwards, staining her clothes, his fingers, the grass, though it should have been his.

* * *

He wasn't sure at what point he had fallen asleep, but he awoke to the feeling of a ticklish sensation against his forehead. The muscles of his neck and back felt stiff and painful, and his arms buzzed. They had fallen asleep. Slowly he roused, feeling the sticky sensation of sleep peel away. He registered he was half resting on a soft surface, slightly sunk under his weight. He was sitting up and slumped forward- his head rested in the crook of his folded arms. And repetitively, he felt something ghosting across his forehead, down his temple, behind his ear, and then across his forehead, down his temple and behind his ear. He blinked open his eyes, to find himself staring at someone's palm. He stiffened as he regained his orientation and recalled the events that lead to him lying here.

He was in the medic tent- blood still stained his sleeves and dried on his palms and fingers. He traced the outline of the palm, and then the wrist it joined to, the pale, slender arm and the dark blue sleeve of a familiar tunic. When he finally met the sapphire blue eyes, one as deep as the midnight sky, and the other warm as the summer sky, a million emotions washed over him.

"You're awake." He said slowly. He had stayed by her side once she had finished receiving treatment, and had obviously fallen asleep at some stage. In the corner of the tent, Robin snoozed in a chair, and Morgan and Chrom had not come on this particular mission. She smiled weakly, the contours of her face deepened by the flickered candlelight.

"I am." She said weakly, her voice a strained rasp. "How long have I been out?"

He glanced away, feeling something thick in his throat. This was the first he had talked to her. He had almost lost her. The look in her eyes when she had learned the truth was burned into his mind's eyes. That would have been the last interaction he'd had with her, had Cynthia not saved her.

"A day and a half." He responded. "We found Gerome. We've begun the march back to Ylisstol."

Her hand rested lightly on his forearms, folded on the cot she lay in. Slowly, with all the will he carried, he stood. He felt like he were attempting to tear off his own arm.

"I'll… let you rest then." He said, the words clumsy and uncomfortable on his tongue.

He found himself unable to leave, though, as he met resistance in the form of her hand wrapping lightly around his.

"Wait." She said, an odd expression on her face. "Stay." He glanced back at her over his shoulder. He could not decipher what emotion lay on her face, but something in her eyes made the hope he had been unable to fully stamp out burn a little stronger in his chest. Slowly, he turned back to her and returned to his former seat.

She did not say anything for a long while- her eyelids flickered as she fought sleep.

"I'm sorry." The words weren't his. He hadn't said anything. Her eyes stared earnestly at him, and she repeated the statement once more. "I'm sorry." This time she said it a little more boldly, her grip on his hand tightening just a fraction.

He smiled weakly, though it probably looked pained.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked gently, twisting his hand in her grasp so that he could wrap his fingers around her own. Her gaze met his steadily.

"Before. When I said your head was full of rainbows and sunshine." She said. "I was wrong."

He vaguely recalled it. Lucina snapping at him had seemed to drop out of his mind, as it paled in comparison to the revelation that had occurred later that same day.

"That's fine." He said quickly. "It doesn't matter." He went to tug his hand free, once more, but she gripped it firmly.

"It does matter." She responded tersely. "I saw your face just then, and it all clicked into place. I was wrong."

Her hand released his and his skin felt cold in its absence. She reached upwards, her fingers trailing along his cheek and jaw before the effort exhausted her and she dropped her hand once more.

"Have you been crying?" She asked, softly, gently. He smiled weakly.

"No, I was smiling." He answered. She shook her head.

"No… no, you were crying." She told him. "I have another thing to apologise for."

He chuckled lightly shaking his head.

"I highly doubt that." He responded. She was stubborn though.

"I do!" She insisted. She winced, pressing her hand slightly to her side. Alarmed, he peeled back the blankets to examine the bandaging. The blood had not yet soaked through to the outer layer.

"Are you ok? Should I call Lissa?" Lucina shook her head.

"No. I'm fine. Just a little sore." She said.

"You should be resting. We can speak later." He said quickly, attempting to stand once more. He didn't think he could handle her apology for whatever imagined slight she had caused.

"No!" She almost shouted. Both of their eyes widened, and flickered to where Robin snoozed in the corner. She did not rouse, instead releasing a rather larger, ungraceful snore. When they had confirmed she was still asleep, Lucina continued. "I want to apologise for doubting you. I should have trusted you, and what you felt for me. You told me you loved me, and I… I didn't believe you."

He shook his head. He realised tears were dripping down his cheeks. Tightly, he gripped her hand and held it to his face, feeling an odd, heavy sensation take route in his heart, and stretch slowly outwards. It wasn't sadness, nor was it relief of joy. Just an ache. Neither bad nor good. He pressed his lips against the skin on the back of her hands.

"Don't apologise." He told her. "Not after what I did."

"Morgan told me what happened." Lucina said. "He explained everything."

Inigo was silent for a moment. She smiled at him, and he felt something warm and desperate make his skin flush hot.

"I love you." He told her. "It hurt that you doubted. But it was my fault that you did."

"It hurt that you lied." She admitted. "It hurt more to doubt you."

Silence reigned between them, at her admission.

"So where do we go from here?" She asked quietly. He didn't know. Did they start again? Did they continue where they left off? Slowly, without releasing her hand, he stood up from his chair and then sunk to his knees on the ground.

"We could start with a date. When we get back to Ylisstol. A day out in town. I'll prove how I feel for you. Sound good?" She frowned just slightly.

"Inigo…" She started. He grinned, feeling giddy but also uneasy, like he hovered on the edge of a cliff side with a plummet into a beautiful valley in front of him.

"It's a date, then."

* * *

 **A/N: Hopefully me pulling the exact same stunt twice in the same story doesn't sour your experience or enjoyment too much- the idea was not purely drama, but rather, I wanted to parallel their early relationship to now. When Lucina last took a hit for Inigo, they were still in the foetal stage of their eventual romantic relationship, and the intention was to highlight the difference between then and now.**

 **Anyway, I actually quite like this chapter. Something about it feels like an accomplishment. I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

 **Oh, also, I'm still considering doing a sequel... It would take a while to write if I did, since I'm right in the middle of semester at the moment, but I'm thinking it would be a Morgan-centric fic... I like him best with Severa (Though I actually married him to Cynthia in my games) and the chaos that would occur when he attempts to matchmake once more (because he apparently learned nothing in this story) but yeah, if you guys are willing to stick around through a potential wait, then I think I may do it!**

 **Guest reviews:**

 **Tunky Ficken: Absolutely. I think, if she'd had a more major role in the story, maybe it would have turned out she's not as big of an asshat as she seems, but as it stands, Severa definitely lives up to that title!**

 **Forgot my Login: Nice name. I hope you remember it. I'm definitely a fan of the dork and tsundere pairing as long as the tsundere is well-balanced. Like if they're too aggressive or overly hurtful than I don't ship it too much, but from what I remember of Severa's supports, she's prickly but not cruel to Morgan. Like she doesn't know how to handle the fact that he wants to spend time with her. Thanks for reading!**

 **Ocharlos: Unfortunately, I have not included Inigo's support with his father in this story, mostly because I wanted to keep his parentage vague (Though I have dropped some pretty heavy hints) But yes, I quite like Cynthia/Gerome (and you may catch some hints next chapter for them if you're sharp!)**

 **Anyways, I'll see you guys next time with *sniff* the final chapter!**

 **Next chapter: Be the sword at my side**


	14. Be the sword at my side

**A/N: And so we come, as we inevitably must, to the end of our time together. I like to think it's been quite the ride- that's up to you, I suppose. I had a lot of fun writing this- I hope you had a lot of fun reading :) Think of this as a sort of extended epilogue.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Be the sword at my side**

They didn't get to go on their date as soon as they got back to Ylisstol. It took Lucina a while to recover enough to be able to spend a day out on town. She was content, though, with Inigo's frequent visits to the infirmary. Sometimes he would bring books to her to read- some of her old favourites, detailing the great feats of the first king or the hero-king. Sometimes he would just stay and chat. Sometimes she would fall asleep, and find him dozing off as well when she awoke. Really, she never spent a moment alone. The others could not keep away, especially upon discovering that she no longer held their little… plan against them.

Her family were amongst her more frequent visitors, but at varying times due to their tight schedules. Her father liked to stop by early in the morning, before his first council meetings, and have breakfast with her. Her mother, not a morning person by any means, preferred to stop by in the evenings, when the warm orange light of a sunset bled through the windows of her temporary quarters. One evening, during her visit, her mother decided to bring something up that had clearly been on her mind for a while.

"So are you just going to forgive him, just like that?" She asked- Inigo had left only moments before, and her eyes were fixed on the doorway he had exited through. Lucina blinked a few times.

"I suppose so." She answered. "I don't see much of a point in holding it against him- I was hurt because I thought it meant he didn't feel the same way. But if he loves me, then surely the only option is to forgive him and move forward?" She reasoned.

"Is that so?" Robin asked, her voice thoughtful and distant. She swivelled in her seat to face Lucina, her gaze searched. Robin had a piercing glance- even behind warm looks or smiles, there was a quality to her stare that left the impression she could see through to one's very soul. It could make people uncomfortable, but Lucina did not quail or shrink under her mother's stare. Instead, she allowed her expression to be open but stern, so that her mother could see her resolve.

A smile split the searching expression in half, her lips stretched wide and the corners of her eyes crinkling.

"It's moments like these I have no trouble believing that you're my daughter." Robin admitted, a fond light shining in her eyes. "Both you and Morgan have far too much of your father in you."

Lucina blinked a few times, confused. Robin shook her head, dismissing the line of conversation.

"It's nothing. Easy forgiveness like that is a very Chrom-ish trait to have, is all." She admitted. The conversation was interrupted then, when Morgan ran in, chased by Lucina's younger self, obviously indulging her in some silly game of chase. Her mother didn't bring up her decision again.

When Lucina was finally deemed well enough, she was tempted to fake illness once more. She was so nervous! It was odd… she had spent so much time with Inigo, had even been on something close to a date with him before, but still, her nerves jittered wildly.

She was walking down the corridors towards the training room, intent on finding Cynthia to seek aid in preparing for the day. However, as the door entered her view, it flew open and she was suddenly aware of a blur of bright red heading straight for her. Aware that she had only just been cleared as well enough to walk- her stab wound had taken a fair few treatments, even with accelerated healing available, to convert it but nothing but a mere scar- Lucina had no intention of being injured once more and side-stepped easily. Cynthia went crashing to the ground and fell flat over.

In an instant, she rolled over and sat up, glaring at Lucina.

"I'm never complaining about your training again, princess." Cynthia said seriously, her eyes entreating. "Kjelle's been _harassing_ us, all morning!"

Lucina blinked a few times, confused.

"How is that any different to how I've been?" Lucina asked, frowning. She folded her arms across her chest. "I'm sure she's just trying to help you!"

Cynthia shook her head, flailing her arms around wildly.

"She's worse! So much worse! At least you were just giving me basic fitness training and aiding my fighting technique! She's obsessed with being the strongest and keeps trying to beat us all up to prove her strength!" Cynthia exclaimed. Lucina held her hand to her mouth, trying to bite back a laugh.

"I can try to speak to her." Lucina offered. "After all, I have a bit of wisdom in the area to pass down." Cynthia shut her mouth, regarding Lucina for a moment, before grinning, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Just a bit?" Cynthia asked, accepting the hand that Lucina offered.

"Don't push your luck." Lucina responded, as Cynthia bent over to brush off grass blades that had clung to her trousers. She straightened. "She still won't talk to me though." Lucina admitted. "Not properly, at least. It's like she's not really there whenever I speak to her."

Cynthia was quiet for a moment, before extending her arms ahead of her in a stretch.

"I'm starting to think I've had enough of a vacation." Cynthia admitted, though Lucina didn't miss her attempt to change the subject. "When will you start training us again?"

Lucina raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you guys were desperate for me to stop?" She quizzed. Cynthia shrugged.

"Not _stop_ , so much as _ease up_." She informed Lucina. "Some of the stuff was actually pretty useful, it was just mixed up with a lot of stuff that did more harm than help. I don't mind going for a run. Just at a reasonable hour. And Morgan _does_ put too much sugar in his breakfast."

Lucina laughed.

"Duly noted." She responded. Then she remembered her initial objective. "I'm here because your assistance is required. I have a date."

Cynthia's eyes bugged rather amusingly out of her head, and her jaw gaped. For a moment, she stared at Lucina, clearly struck dumb by Lucina's admission, before a wide grin stretched across her face.

"Well, now, I think a congratulations is in order, then." She said with a smile. "I'd love to help you, princess."

"I'm offended that you would go to Cynthia for help when I'm standing right here." Severa commented, coming up behind Cynthia. She glanced away, glaring off to the side. "I mean, not that I _want_ to help, but clearly I'm the better choice, between the two of us."

"You can help, Sev, two heads _are_ better than one." Cynthia pointed out. She glanced back at the training room. "Though I don't think we have much time to spare, we'll have to go back and help Noire and Yarne out at some point before Kjelle kills them."

Lucina nodded.

"Then we'll have to be quick." She responded.

They were anything but quick- after deciding that Lucina's collection of tunics and blouses were inadequate for a day out with Inigo, Severa and Cynthia moved on to critically appraise their own collections of clothes, before forcing Lucina into a long, pale blue skirt and a loose blouse. It was a pleasant outfit, loose and airy in the hot summer sun, and inconspicuous enough that the princess could spend a day out with her sweetheart without attracting any unwanted attention.

"What's on the agenda for the day?" Cynthia asked, trying and failing to comb Lucina's hair back.

Lucina shook her head.

"He told me to meet him in the back gardens, and that he had the whole day planned out, but I couldn't get a thing out of him beyond that." She looked at her fingers knotted together in her lap and felt a fresh wave of jittery nerves. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little uneasy." She admitted quietly to her friends. Cynthia gave up, deciding to leave Lucina's hair to fall loosely over her shoulders and down her back.

"What's there to be uneasy about? Isn't it just Inigo?" Severa said. Her voice sounded like she was sneering, but Lucina knew her better than that. Her brusque manner was unintended- Severa was simply a straightforward person.

"I suppose…" Lucina said, but the sentiment did not aid in clearing up her nerves. Cynthia planted a hand on her shoulder, a little too roughly. Lucina flinched from her surprise.

"I know how you feel. If someone I liked asked me out on a date, I'd be nervous, no matter how comfortable I felt with them." She kept it vague, but the wistful expression on her face told Lucina that there was no doubt a specific person in Cynthia's mind as she said the words. "But I think that's part of the whole shebang. The nerves, the butterflies… they're not bad! It just means you really like him, is all!"

Lucina nodded, smiling just slightly.

"I do." She admitted. "I really, really love him."

Both girls stared at Lucina for a moment before Severa turned to the side and began making gagging noises. Affronted, Lucina stood to her feet, adjusting her skirts.

"I think it's about time I left, he's no doubt waiting for me." She said. Cynthia grinned, shooting her a dual thumbs up.

"Good luck princess!" Cynthia exclaimed. Then she dropped her voice. "And you don't have to worry. You've got a great day ahead!"

* * *

Inigo's posture was tense as he stood amongst the flowerbeds. His spine was stiff and straight. He stood to attention, like he were awaiting orders from his captain. Lucina took a moment, while he hadn't noticed her, to appreciate the nerves written into every line of his body. It appeared she wasn't the only one who was nervous, and it comforted to know that he was in the same boat as her. They could do this. They had braved the storm, had braved many storms, together, and they could brave the storms to come. His hair glinted silver in the bright sunlight, he was tall and his shoulders broad, and the hesitant smile on his face was sweet and warm.

She stepped into his line of sight and he turned to face her, the tenseness in his posture melting away as he graced her with a bright, warm smile that made her heart skip a beat. He walked towards her, and wrapped his arms around her. She started, having not expected such a forward act of affection from him.

"Sorry." He said. "I was just happy to see you."

Slowly, she raised her arms up around him and hugged him in return.

"Thank you." She responded. He stepped back, dropping his arms, and beamed at her. He then held out his arm, which she accepted, tucking her fingers into the crook of his elbow.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her, as they walked. "Will you be alright to walk around today?"

Lucina nodded.

"I was starting to feel quite suffocated, cooped up in the infirmary- stretching my legs will be good, I think." She told him. His face was grim for a moment, staring straight ahead, before he looked down to meet her gaze.

"That makes two times, you know." He said. His voice was casual, but his posture had gone stiff once more. She could feel tension lock in his arm where she gripped it. "Two times you've put yourself in danger to protect me."

She chose not to respond for a moment, pausing to examine a flower bed rich in a sharply scented, pale purple flower that hugged close to the ground.

He crouched down beside her, reaching out to gently run his hands across the soft petals. Then he wrapped his fingers around the stem of one, carefully snapping it. He turned to Lucina and tucked it just behind her ear, and resting his hand against her cheek.

"You'd probably say no if I asked you not to do it again, wouldn't you?" He asked. She met his gaze steadily and smile, though it was no doubt stiff and stern.

"I would." She confirmed. "No matter how many times it happens, I'll gladly die before I allow harm to come to you."

He went stiff, his smile strained.

"Then I guess I'll have to make sure to stay out of harm's way." He said. "Once this war is over, I'm going to pick the safest job I can think of."

She tilted her head to the side.

"Most jobs have their dangers." She responded. He nodded, smiling. The corners of his eyes twinkled, and one corner of his mouth tilted up more than the other.

"They do." He responded. "Maybe Robin will hire me to do all her paperwork. That seems like a rather safe job."

"You might get a paper cut." Lucina responded jokingly. Inigo laughed.

"And I'd have to work near your father. On second thoughts, that's probably more dangerous than my current occupation." He said. "I guess I'll have to stick to being a dancer."

They stood, and continued their stroll.

"I have a story to tell you." He said, after a few moments of comfortable silence. She turned to him with interest. They were nearing the castle gates, and soon they would begin the walk to the castle town. "It starts with a young, dashing man, and how his best friend started to avoid him."  
Lucina stiffened, glancing up at him, with wide eyes. He grinned down at her, holding up a finger to his lips.

"Don't interrupt. I can see you're considering it." He told her. "Now where was I? Ah yes, the dashing young man was very confused. Was his friend mad at him? She wouldn't speak to him, apart from what she considered business. She would train all her other soldiers to a ridiculously intense degree, and yet barely acknowledge her friend."

They passed through the gate, and the borders of the town traced the hillside in the distance. The walk to the castle town was a pleasant and easy one that Lucina loved to make.

"One day his other friends approached him with a problem." He said. "They said that the girl was being too harsh. She was making them train for a ridiculous amount of hours. She wouldn't listen to their protests. She was stressed and hard to be around. They begged him to do something."

Lucina glanced away, slightly embarrassed when she recalled her behaviour. Time recovering in the hospital had allowed her to mull over her behaviour, which was what had driven her friends to such drastic measures. Suddenly the words they had been pleading with her had become abundantly clear, though she had made every effort to ignore them before. She had been taking her stress and grief out on them. She had had time to consider their words and speak with Inigo and had eventually arrived at the resolution not to fall back into bad habits. She would continue to aid her friends in their training, but at their own paces, at their own set times. They were adults, perfectly capable of deciding how long they needed to train and what areas they needed to train in.

Inigo continued his story.

"Eventually his friends came up with a ridiculous plan. If the dashing young man were to court his best friend, then perhaps she would be so distracted by her love, she would no longer harass them to train in preparation for war." He continued. "Of course, he found the idea ridiculous, but his friends insisted, and eventually he caved to their requests."

He shot Lucina a curious look out of the corner of his eye before he continued.

"Maybe a small part of him was hoping his friend would just talk to him again. I don't know. It didn't take long for him to regret agreeing to the plan, though." He said. "She was just so kind and selfless, and she literally took an arrow for him." He wrapped his fingers around hers as they walked. "No doubt it was the stupidest decision he ever made, to agree to play with her emotions like that. Even if he did it passively, it was inexcusable."

"But the thing is," He continued. "Over time, he started to realise something. I don't know how he missed it before, but he realised that not only was his friend beautiful and kind, she was clever and funny, and sweet, and easily the most amazing woman on this planet, and believe me, there are a _lot_ of amazing women on this planet- some would argue that every woman is quite amazing, they all hold this amazing charm-"

"Inigo." Lucina interrupted, unimpressed. "The story."

He flushed, and chuckled, a little scolded.

"Right." He said, clearing his throat. "Anyway, he realised he was in love with the girl. He wasn't sure when it had happened- maybe he had loved her since he was a little boy? Maybe he only fell in love with her recently? It was impossible to tell. But he loved her with all his heart."

"And then she found out about the plan he had agreed to, and she was hurt. He was hurt too, and deeply regretful. But eventually they were able to talk things out, and here we are today." He stopped walking, turning to face her and holding both her hands loosely in his. "Lucina." He said seriously. "I wanted you to hear my side of things, directly from me, even though I think Morgan may have already told you. I won't try to excuse or defend my actions, but I will promise you, that from now on, I won't ever be insincere towards you. Every day, for as long as I live, I will love you. I promise you that." He said, his gaze holding hers. Lucina felt her cheeks burn at his admission, and the warmth in his gaze made something in her heart stretch.

"I'll make a promise to you too, then." She said. "I won't ever doubt you again. I know you love me, and I love you too." He smiled then, a heart-achingly joyous smile, and he gripped her hands in hers.

"Ok, then, let's carry on with the day, shall we?" He asked. "I hear there's a puppet show in town, and if I remember correctly, you're quite fond of those."

"As long as the puppets aren't secretly Owain and Morgan again." Lucina responded, to confirm his words. She didn't pick up on the flash of panic in his eyes at her statement.

She should have known better.

"No, the _queen_ is the real hero of the story!" A goofy, brightly dress puppet argued, facing its friend and flailing its little arms about in the odd many that puppets often do. "She was working behind the scenes the _whole time_ to allow the king to claim victory."

"But it was the king's heroic acts that allowed the kingdom to emerge victorious! Her plans would have never worked if it weren't for the king's braveness and skill with a sword!" The other puppet argued in a falsely high-pitched voice. Probably a poor attempt to disguise the owner's identity.

"Inigo." Lucina said, her voice stiff. He chuckled nervously. "Why do they insist of making fools of themselves like this?"

"In my defence," Inigo responded quickly. "It was their idea."

She shot him a look.

"We're not going to run into a Plegian fortune teller and a magician that is clearly Laurent, are we?" She asked.

"I'm Feroxian, actually." Said the fortune teller in question, approaching them from behind. "Just kidding. Actually I could be Feroxian… not sure where my dad's from."

Lucina rolled her eyes, turning to Cynthia. She grinned, clearly not dressed in a ridiculous outfit. Instead, she wore a simple dress.

"Inigo suggested we all spend a day out on town together, to celebrate your speedy recovery, as well as to celebrate the fact that we're _all_ reunited! The gang is back together!" Cynthia cheered. Lucina glanced over her shoulder to find the other shepherds aggregating. They waved at Lucina. She turned to Inigo, and he grinned the crooked grin that always made her heartbeat feel irregular.

"I'd love to have you to myself the whole day," He said, coming up to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her close against him. "But I feel that you'll enjoy the day like this far more."

For a moment, she was surprised and did not respond, but then she felt something warm and gentle stretch in her chest. She was happy. She glanced out at all her friends, who had already broken into chatter together- Morgan and Owain carried on their arguments, and had not abandoned their puppets. They waved their hand puppets aggressively at one another. Severa rolled her eyes and made some remark, but Lucina could see the fond smile on her face. They were all laughing and chatting together.

This was what she had wanted, when she came to the future. More than anything else. She could not bring back the parents that had been lost in the war, and even saving them in the past would not undo their deaths in the future, at least not the pain it had caused. She couldn't protect them from the dangers they faced, could not banish the long and treacherous journey they had faced. But here they were, reunited, smiling, joyous. For the first time, she did not force down the hope that brewed in her chest as they stood, gathered together. She had been so terrified of what the future held that she had though things like happiness and hope a luxury that would only bring her weakness.

Yet she had never felt more invincible. Was this what Inigo had meant, when he told her to smile? Perhaps he had been referring to how much more powerful it was to fight with hope rather than terror.

She smiled up at him, and he looked slightly surprise before smiling warmly back.

"Thank you." She said, slowly. He winked at her, his smile crooked.

"Anytime, my love." She flushed and looked away.

They settled on having a picnic on the edge of the town where a long expanse of grass stretched just before the entrance to the gate. The joy and merriment spread and she found herself enjoying the afternoon- it was well into the evening before anyone even _attempted_ to leave, but Gerome was quickly forced to stay by Cynthia. Still slightly weak, having not had the chance to gain her strength back after being bedridden for long, Lucina had settled down on the grass, opting to enjoy the atmosphere rather than actively participate in the game they were currently playing, an odd valmese game that Gerome had taught Cynthia when they were children. Inigo was currently losing, and he shot Lucina a grimace over his shoulder that made her giggle.

She started when she felt a weight settled next to her, and turned to find Kjelle, armour free and sitting cross-legged beside her. Something not quite a smile stretched across her face in the orange light of the evening. She met Lucina's gaze steadily. Lucina was surprised- Kjelle had been distant since rejoining the Shepherds. Not that Lucina blamed her, after what had happened.

"I'm thinking of going to visit Justine." Kjelle told her. "She wrote to me recently."

Lucina swallowed, an unpleasant weight forming in her throat. She stared straight ahead, knotting her fingers in the grass and tugging, feeling the blades snap.

"Is that so?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice even. In the peripheral of her vision, she saw Kjelle nod.

"I was really angry at you, you know." Kjelle admitted slowly. "You're the strongest person I've ever met, and yet you couldn't save him."

Lucina glanced down, her knees pressed together and pulled into her chest.

"I know." She responded quietly.

"But, that's not fair. I was just hiding from my own weakness. I was on that team too, and I couldn't save him." Kjelle said, after a while. ""

"You weren't." Lucina said quietly. She sighed, and looked up, meeting Kjelle's gaze. "I let you down. I'm supposed to protect the halidom's people, and I couldn't."

Kjelle nodded, and directed her gaze towards the other shepherds, whose game was steadily getting noisier and noisier.

"I know that feeling." Kjelle said. She stretched her arm out ahead of her, before clenching her hand in a fast. "I want to be strong. And stop anyone from ever getting hurt."

She glanced at Lucina.

"You're not as strong as I thought you were." She told Lucina. "And that's ok, you know? You just have to keep getting stronger."

Lucina smiled wistfully and straightened her head.

"Yeah, I guess." She said. Kjelle got to her feet, dusting off the back of her trousers.

"Justine wanted me to tell you that she doesn't blame you. And she wanted to thank you. For all you did to save him." Kjelle said, not facing Lucina. She then wandered back towards the game. Lucina watched, her tongue thick, unable to say anything.

"That looked like a serious conversation." Inigo said, settling beside her. Surprised, Lucina glanced at him. He smiled guiltily. "I got eliminated." She glanced over to where the game was still happening just in time to see Cynthia get eliminated, while Morgan cackled boisterously at yet another victory. Lucina pressed her lips together, almost smiling, but not quite. She felt like a heavy weight in her chest had eased just the slightest bit.

"Shall we leave the others to their games?" Inigo suggested. "I have something to show you."

He helped her to her feet, smiling widely, before leading her further into the bank of woods. She glanced over her shoulder, and Morgan caught her eye, before winking and shooting her a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes and turned to follow Inigo into the trees.

"It's not far." He said aloud, his tone contemplative. "If I remember correctly, it was only a little ways downstream."

He reached forward to part some overhanging branches, peering into the clearing behind. He turned with a wide grin. "This is the place. And we're just in time."

Lucina had seen a lot of ugliness in her life. Broken, lifeless bodies, skies stained as crimson as blood. She had stared into the eyes of the very being that wreaked destruction into her home. Such things sapped an appreciation of beauty from her- every beautiful thing in this timeline was overwritten in her mind with the carnage that was to come upon it should she fail in her mission. She did not put stock in things so fragile as beauty.

Still, her breath caught in her throat at the sight before her. The sun had set during their walk- the first hints of moonlight tinged the edges of leaves silver and danced along the small creek that trailed through the clearing in flashes of molten, liquid light.

A single source of light, like a tiny star she could reach out and catch, blinked to life, slowly floating down towards the creek. Others soon joined into until the clearing was alive with dancing starlight, small pinpoints of warmth that fluttered and floated around her.

"My mother used to take me here when I was small." Inigo admitted. "Or perhaps she will take me here when I'm older. They're fireflies."

Reverently, Lucina stepped into the clearing, glancing around.

"What do you think?" He asked. She turned to face him, her eyes bright, but when her eyes landed on him, something made the smile slip from her face. The contours of his face were traced by silver moonlight- the small glowing bugs made the white of his hair gleam and dance. His eyes were warm and soft, and he smiled that gentle, dashing smile, the one that had stuck in her heart and refused to leave since the day she met him.

He must have seen something on her face, because uncertainty crossed it.

"Do you not like it?" He asked. "I know you don't like bugs, but these…"

"Inigo." She interrupted, and he looked concerned.

"Is everything alright? I know you're stressed because Validar has demanded the fire emblem and you've only just recovered enough to leave the hospital, but…"

She shook her head to cut him off. This was not the time to dwell on the uncertainty ahead of them.

"Do you remember, how I would get so upset whenever you suggested I smile?" She asked. He blinked a few times, before a fond smile tipped his lips.

"Of course. I record everything a woman says to me, insults and all." He told her cheekily, and she stepped towards him.

"It was because… I thought I couldn't afford joy during times such as these." She admitted, reaching for his hands and cupping them gently in her own, drawing them towards her. "You… make me so happy. Too happy. But… I think I know now."

"Know what?" He asked softly.

"What you mean. When you told me to smile. About the power it has. I… don't think I could survive without it. Now that I know what that joy feels like." She glanced up into his eyes, and found an intensity in his expression she hadn't expected to see there. "Will you stay with me? Be the sword at my side?"

His answer was a kiss. Gentle but firm. He pulled back, and smiled, before gently kissing her once more.

A throat cleared between them, and they sprang apart. They turned to find Morgan standing very solemnly, with Owain on one side looking disgusted and a starstruck Cynthia on the other.

"If you guys are done being gross, I have a very important matter to discuss with you." Morgan said. His hands were clasped in front of him, and his feet were planted shoulder-width apart. "It's about Kjelle… She's been acting _far_ too strict lately."

Lucina blinked and exchanged a confused glance with Inigo.

Morgan shook his head, and behind him, Cynthia and Owain grimaced, looking incredibly concerned.

He turned to Owain solemnly, planting his hands firmly on his cousin's shoulders- He had to reach up a bit because of the height difference.

"Up to the task, Owain?"

Robin would later receive reports of terrified screams coming from that area from concerned villagers, who could mainly recall an incredibly distressed voice screaming and repeated, desperate apologies. At which, she shook her head, chuckling slightly at her son- surely he knew that something like that could only go wrong, right?

* * *

 **A/N: There we have it. I've never finished a fanfic before, so this is a really big moment for me. I really appreciate all of you who took the time to read and enjoy and even review this story- It's been really awesome and there were times when I thought this was the dumbest story in the world (which it sorta is but that was the POINT) so thank you! I hope this sufficiently wraps everything up in a neat enough bow that you think "ahhhh that was so nice!" and leave with a smile on you face.**

 **Thank you again, for everything! See you next time it tickles my fancy to write a fic!**

 **Oh, also, I did some art of that last little bit of the fireflies, if you want to see, it's on my tumblr the-protractor and then just copy this last little bit:**

 **/post/142738115196/she-turned-to-face-him-her-eyes-bright-but-when**


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